Arsenal last night upped the stakes in the title race as they prepared to break their transfer record with a swoop for one of Europe's brightest young talents, 20-year-old Spanish striker Jose Antonio Reyes.
Reyes will arrive at Highbury later this week to undergo a medical, with a view to completing a four-and-a-half-year deal that may be worth up to £20m after terms were agreed with Sevilla.
The one minor problem is that he could arrive with a one-match suspension hanging over him if the ban is transferred from Spain to England. Then again, as his new manager, Arsene Wenger, joked: "That just makes me think he has all the qualities to be an Arsenal player!" Reyes admitted the move had taken place so quickly that it "seems like a film" as Arsenal made clear their intention not to be muscled out of the transfer market by Manchester United or Chelsea.
Having studiously saved their cash for more than two years since the signings of Francis Jeffers and Giovanni van Bronckhorst for a total around £15m, Wenger has now finally made his move.
The deal is expected to cost Arsenal about £9m up front but, with a complicated bonus system based on appearances, goals and team success, the entire package could rise close to £20m.
And that would comfortably eclipse the Arsenal transfer record of a reported £13m paid for Sylvain Wiltord in 2000. Wenger had been tracking Reyes for more than a year, having made an initial approach last July, and was initially lining up the talented Spain international for a summer move to Highbury.
But injuries to Wiltord and Jeremie Aliadiere, and Kanu's departure for the African Nations Cup, have stretched resources so that a strikeforce aged just 36 - Quincy Owusu-Abeyie, 17, and David Bentley, 19 - will start tonight's Carling Cup semi-final second leg at Middlesbrough.
Wiltord, Kanu and Dennis Bergkamp are also out of contract this summer, leading Wenger to eclipse United's £12m move for Louis Saha earlier this month with his stealthy move for Reyes.
