Arsene Wenger has said he will be monitoring the availability of Wayne Rooney this summer and believes no club would be able to turn down the chance of signing the Manchester United forward.
Arsenal are understood to be considering an offer for the striker, whose future is uncertain after Alex Ferguson, who signed him from Everton for €27 million in August 2004, claimed he had submitted a transfer request at United in May.
Rooney has since denied handing in a formal request but United's new manager, David Moyes, must decide whether the 27-year-old is part of his plans for next season.
Substantial damages
The player was sued by Moyes, who gave the striker his debut as a 16-year-old at Everton, for allegations in an autobiography, before Rooney apologised and paid him substantial damages in 2010.
“Rooney could be an interesting player for everybody in the world, who would turn him down?” said Wenger.
“David Moyes’ first challenge is to go in to Manchester and bridge the gap between him and Rooney. If that is feasible or not depends on his personality and if Rooney bears a grudge or not – we will see. It will be interesting to see how that will be handled.”
Meanwhile, Liverpool have identified Shakhtar Donetsk’s Henrikh Mkhitaryan as a leading transfer target for the summer and are not deterred by the €25million price tag on one of the most coveted players in European football.
The Anfield club have registered their interest in the Armenia international, who scored a record 25 goals in the Ukrainian Premier League last season despite operating as an attacking midfielder.
Strongest clubs
Mkhitaryan put Europe's leading clubs on alert following Shakhtar's elimination from the Champions League by admitting he wanted to play for "one of the strongest clubs in the world".
Liverpool do expect to complete the €9 million signing of the Celta Vigo forward Iago Aspas this week, with the 25-year-old due on Merseyside for a medical, and have agreed the free transfer of Kolo Toure when his Manchester City contract expires at the end of the month.
Rodgers is willing to pay €14 million for his first-choice Schalke central defender, Kyriakos Papadopoulos, and is also keen on Tiago Ilori, of Sporting Lisbon.
Guardian Service
