Arsenal have made a substantial offer for Ipswich goalkeeper Richard Wright. Ipswich have allowed the £7 million-rated England 'keeper to talk to the Highbury club despite Wright signing a new three-year contract this summer.
Arsenal, looking for a long-term replacement for 37-year-old David Seaman, are keen to add 23-year-old Wright to summer signings Francis Jeffers and Giovanni van Bronckhorst. A statement from Ipswich chairman David Sheepshanks said: "I can confirm that Arsenal made a substantial offer for Richard Wright over the weekend on the basis of which the board have given permission for Richard to speak to Arsenal about personal terms.
"We understand that these talks are now taking place, besides which some formalities remain to be sorted out prior to the completion of a transfer. These include the fact that he will have to pass a medical when he returns from holiday in early July.
"If Richard was ever going to leave Ipswich we know Arsenal was his preferred choice and when he signed his new three-year contract this summer we agreed with him that if Arsenal made an acceptable approach then we would not stand in his way."
The Ipswich-born player has been with the Portman Road club since 1995 and made his full debut the following year. Last season he was an integral member of the Ipswich side as George Burley's men finished fifth in the Premiership to book a place in this season's UEFA Cup.
Meanwhile, Arsenal have warned Sol Campbell that he risks missing out on a move to Highbury unless he decides where his future lies by July 5th. Manager Arsene Wenger has made the 26-year-old England and Tottenham defender his main target but will turn his attention elsewhere if Campbell fails to commit himself before pre-season training begins. Campbell, who turned down the offer of a new contract at Spurs, is on holiday weighing up options which include being offered a reported £200,000 a week by Barcelona.
Arsenal's vice-chairman David Dein stopped short of issuing an ultimatum, but made his stance clear. "Sol Campbell's position is that the timing is his. He has said he will make a decision in two or three weeks' time. Obviously we would like it to be before we start training on July 5th because otherwise we'll have other fish to fry. But hopefully it will be Dover Sol."
Campbell is expected to make up his mind at the end of the month and Dein, who has met the Spurs captain to discuss personal terms, is hopeful rather than bullish. "He knows that we are very keen to sign him but I guess we've got very, very stiff competition."
If Arsenal are successful Campbell would become the highest-paid player at Highbury. The rate at which wages have escalated shocks Dein, but he said: "It's a question of talent, I suppose. If you see what top film stars are getting for a film, it's what the market will bear."
Dein also confirmed that "a few" players will be sold in the light of the arrivals of Jeffers and van Bronckhorst for £16.5 million. One of the strikers, probably Sylvain Wiltord or Nwankwo Kanu, is expected to leave and they have agreed to sell Stefan Malz to Kaiserslautern for around £500,000. The 29year-old arrived from Munich 1860 two years ago for £610,000 but has made little impact, starting only two Premiership matches.
Norwegian under-21 star John Arne Riise completed his move to Liverpool last night. Riise was a regular in the Monaco side that won the title in 1999-2000, but fell out of favour with coach Claude Puel after saying he wanted to leave. Rated one of Norway's brightest prospects, Riise broke through with provincial club Aalesund, who say they are due 20 per cent of the undisclosed transfer fee.
