Rumour: Arsenal eyeing Paris-Saint Germain's Marco Verratti

Marco Verratti

Arsenal are reportedly lining up a major summer bid to bring Marco Verratti to the Premier League, hoping that £17million will be enough to tempt Paris St Germain into a transfer.

The Italian midfielder has been a regular in the PSG side this season, but is thought to be worried for his place in the team after calls for a pay-rise to stay with the French league leaders fell upon deaf ears and saw Laurent Blanc instead bring in further competition in Yohan Cabaye from Newcastle.

Manchester United are also believed to be monitoring his situation, but with no Champions League football likely to be on offer at Old Trafford, Arsenal could hold a key advantage in any transfer battle, should they indeed manage to hold on to the fourth position in the table they currently occupy.

According to the Metro, the Gunners see him as the perfect replacement for Mikel Arteta, who has just a year to run on his contract and no plans from Arsenal to offer him an extension after an underwhelming season in which he has been dismissed on two occasions.

Wenger is believed to want to add a bit more steel to his midfield options with Mathieu Flamini into his 30s now and signed purely as a stop-gap and Verratti is believed to be keen on testing himself in a higher league, having been made aware of Premier League interest.