Arsenal
have joined Chelsea in triggering Loic Remy's release clause, according to
some Sky sources.
The QPR striker appeared to be on his way to Stamford Bridge when Chelsea
agreed to pay the £10.5million fee set out in his contract, but Remy could
now be left with a choice to make between the London rivals.
Another source claims Arsenal, who this week lost Olivier Giroud until the
New Year, are interested but have not yet gone as far as matching the fee.
Either way, the latest development means Remy's move to Chelsea may no
longer be the formality it seemed when he was pulled out of the QPR team to
play Sunderland and given permission to discuss terms.
Speaking before that game Rangers boss Harry Redknapp said: "The deal looks
like it is probably done so I had to make a change in the team.
"He didn't refuse to play or anything, but speaking to him it is difficult.
If he is moving and signing for another team, it’s difficult to go out there
and get your head around playing."
Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho, meanwhile, spoke openly about Remy after his
side's 6-3 win at Everton on Saturday Night Football.
Mourinho has identified the France international as a replacement for
Milan-bound Fernando Torres and insists there are no concerns over the
fitness of a player who failed a Liverpool medical earlier this summer.
He said: “We are trying to get Remy. The information we have from
specialists in different areas is that he doesn’t have a problem to play
football.”
Arsenal's interest, meanwhile, comes despite Arsene Wenger's claim he is not
desperate to cover Giroud's absence with a new signing.
Wenger talked up his current forward options ahead of the weekend and said:
“If we buy somebody, somebody will go because we have too many players. We
have too many strikers."
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