Wenger in fight to keep Nasri away from Fergie

MANCHESTER UNITED remain hopeful of signing Samir Nasri although Arsenal say they have not received a formal bid for the French midfielder.

United have made a near-£20 million bid for the 24-year-old within the last fortnight, and that the bid remains on the table.

Nasri has so far refused to extend his Arsenal contract, which has only 12 months to run. He is expected to meet Arsene Wenger for talks within the next 24 hours.

Wenger is already facing the prospect of losing captain Cesc Fabregas to Barcelona, having sold Gael Clichy to Manchester City on Monday.

The Arsenal manager is determined not to sell Nasri to United but knows the player could leave for nothing if he sits out the last year of his deal.

Chelsea and Manchester City have also been strongly linked with Nasri, and Wenger is reluctant to see one of his key performers, and a player he would like as a cornerstone of a rebuilt Arsenal team, move to one of his Premier League rivals.

Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson, however, is determined to strengthen his midfield after the retirement of Paul Scholes and with Ryan Giggs coming to the end of his career.

Tottenham’s Luka Modric and Inter Milan’s Wesley Sneijder have been touted as possible Ferguson targets, but the fact that United have made a firm offer for Nasri suggests they are optimistic that a deal can be done, despite Wenger’s determination not to sell — and especially to Old Trafford.

Arsenal have offered Nasri an improved, long-term deal at the Emirates and were confident he would sign towards the end of last season, but doubts have grown throughout the summer and suitors are encouraged they can now prise him away.

Meanwhile, Barcelona wing-back Dani Alves understands the situation of wantaway Arsenal captain Fabregas and believes the Gunners should not stop the midfielder making the step up to “business class” by rejoining the Catalan club this summer.

Alves has compared his own situation to that of the 24-year-old Spain international, remembering how he wanted to leave Sevilla to join Barca three years ago.

“I understand that he doesn’t want to leave Arsenal on bad terms but I can understand why he would force the motor to come to Barca,” he said yesterday.

Alves engineered his own Sevilla exit and claims Fabregas should do the same.

“I forced my exit from Sevilla; I saw the train passing by and I wanted to be in business class,” he said.

Barca, meanwhile, insist they are in no hurry to sign the Catalan midfielder.

“We have the whole summer to sign players,” said Barcelona vice-president Josep Bartomeu. “Right up until the last moment, things can be blocked or unblocked, so we have time.

“All of the deals that are being worked on by the technical secretary require patience — we are working without hurry but without delay.”

And Bartomeu says improvements are necessary despite the success of last season, when Barca won a third successive Primera Division title and claimed the Champions League for the second time in three seasons, with victory at Wembley against United.

“We have a great team with great players and great coaches — the best in Europe,” he said.

“But the squad will need some retouching.”