Hleb top summer transfer target for Inter boss Mancini

ALEXANDER HLEB’S future at Arsenal was plunged into fresh uncertainty last night when Inter head coach Roberto Mancini confirmed the midfielder was one of his top summer transfer targets.

The Belarussian midfielder has been monitored by Inter all season but this is the first time the Serie A leaders have gone public with their interest. “We have already spoken about the players we would like to sign this summer and we are interested in Hleb,” said Mancini.

The news will come as a blow to Arsene Wenger, who has repeatedly stressed the importance of keeping his talented young squad together in order to mount a sustained Premier League title challenge next season.

Wenger was angered last month when Hleb held a meeting with representatives of Inter the night before Arsenal’s Champions League tie with Milan and he must now fear he has lost the battle to keep the midfielder.

Inter are confident Arsenal’s failure to win a trophy this season and the prospect of significantly improving his £40,000-a-week (€50k) salary will persuade Hleb to quit.

Arsenal’s position is made more vulnerable by the fact that Hleb — who has also been linked with a move to Barcelona — is able to buy out the final two years of his five-year contract this summer under Article 17 of FIFA’s transfer regulations.