Catalan giants Barcelona are set to go head to head with Arsenal over French U 21 midfielder Etienne Capoue according to the latest reports.
Earlier it was reported that Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has shifted his attention to the Toulouse midfielder after cooling his interest in Rennes star Yann M’Vila. M’Vila was involved in an altercation with former French coach Laurent Blanc after their Euro exit and is currently being investigated by the French FA. The indiscipline of the 21 year old proved to be a major concern for Le Professor and he gave up on his pursuit.
Tito Vilanova is also in search of a midfield marshal after Seydou Keita followed Pep Guardiola on his way out of Nou Camp to join Chinese side Dalian Aerbin. The Catalans have signed highly rated Valencia full back Jordi Alba and are now interested in the hard tackling Capoue to finish off their transfer shopping. The 21 year old is set to cost them £9.5m which is affordable for both the teams and it would largely depend on the player to decide the destination where he wants to head for.