City add another £14m to Arsenal coffers as Toure signs up
Toure: last of Arsenal's 'Invincibles'
KOLO TOURE is due at Manchester City today to complete a medical on his £14m move from Arsenal, with Arsene Wenger adamant that he has plenty of defensive options to cope without one of his most experienced players.
The sale of Toure, who will receive wages of around £120,000-a-week, would follow the departure of Emmanuel Adebayor and will mean Arsenal have banked some £39m from Manchester City over the past two weeks. At least £30m is understood to be available to Wenger, although there is concern from Alisher Usmanov, the club's second largest shareholder, at the wisdom of selling to one of Arsenal's biggest rivals.
Wenger himself has admitted that Manchester City will challenge the established 'big four' next season, but will look to reinvest in other players. The chances of signing Real Madrid forward Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, who is available for £16m, have increased now that Tottenham have bought Peter Crouch and Stuttgart could not find agreement with the Dutch forward on his wages.
Fulham's Brede Hangeland would also provide the imposing presence at centre-back that Arsenal lacked at important moments last season, although Roy Hodgson would be extremely reluctant to sell his main defensive asset.
Wenger is prepared to let Philippe Senderos leave following his loan spell last season at AC Milan, but will consider using Alex Song as a centre-back next season. His other options include William Gallas, Johan Djourou, Thomas Vermaelen and Mikael Silvestre.
The departure of Toure, who Wenger signed for just £150,000, represents the end of an era at Arsenal as he is the only member of the current squad to have been a regular in the 'Invincible' team of 2003-4. With 326 first-team appearances, one Premier League title and two FA Cup-winning medals, he is also the longest-serving player in the squad.
The addition of Toure will take Mark Hughes's spending this summer to almost £100m and his total outlay over the past year to around £200m.
It also represents some consolation for the failure to sign England captain John Terry from Chelsea. Hughes still wants to add another centre-back and, despite having had one offer of around £15m rejected, remains hopeful that a deal can be concluded for Everton defender Joleon Lescott. (© Daily Telegraph, London)
- Jeremy Wilson
