Arsene Wenger is convinced that the £12m purchase of Jadson, a Brazilian midfielder in the Cesc Fabregas mould, will enable Arsenal to build from their summer wreckage, as Manchester City hold out hope that £22m Samir Nasri could be their player in time to field him against Swansea City on Monday night.
Jadson, a tough, compact, 27-year-old attacking midfielder, revealed his capacity for goals in this summer's Copa America, though his arrival from Shakhtar Donetsk as a replacement for Fabregas – who is likely to follow Nasri out of the Emirates next week – will do little to lift the spirits of Arsenal supporters.
The Independent understands that manager Wenger was powerless to hold on to Nasri after a board meeting eight days ago at which principal shareholder Stan Kroenke insisted that it would be folly to sacrifice City's money and see the Frenchman leave as a free agent next summer. Wenger did not put up a fight and City hope to announce the signing of the player imminently.
City must lodge the transfer documents with the Premier League by midday today if they are to field the 24-year-old against the newly promoted Welsh side.
With Fabregas likely to be on the way to Barcelona for a fee of €34m (£29.8m) paid up front and up to €6m in add-ons, Shakhtar's representatives were in London yesterday to discuss the sale of Jadson.
Though he is the best of the clutch of Brazilians at the Ukrainian club, a £12m deal would make them a £9m profit on the sum paid to Brazilian club side Atletico-PR in 2005. Jadson's spectacular goal against Paraguay for Brazil in the Copa America revealed his goal-scoring prowess and he is likely to be deployed in an advanced role in front of Jack Wilshere and Alex Song in the Arsenal midfield.
Few will see Jadson as a like-for-like replacement for Fabregas, despite his physical similarities to the Spaniard, and at 27 he is not the next big thing in Brazil. But Jadson arrives with the advantage of being ready to launch straight into the season, having been heavily involved in the Ukrainian campaign, which is well under way. He said yesterday: "If everything goes to plan, I'll have some news for everyone at the start of next week. Hope it works out."
City have been reluctant to discuss their moves for Nasri. The club are highly sensitive about the image of them using their wealth to take players without the customary diplomacy towards the clubs they are taking them from.
The City manager Roberto Mancini's public discussion of the Frenchman earlier this summer did not help their image. But although Nasri's departure will increase the number of Arsenal players who have moved to Eastlands to four – Emmanuel Adebayor, Kolo Touré, Gaël Clichy and Nasri – negotiations between the two clubs were said to be amicable yesterday.
Nasri's arrival may not halt City's moves for Fiorentina winger Alessio Cerci. Though a deal to bring in the 24-year-old is not imminent, the player is one whom Mancini has personally pushed to secure, and a Fiorentina valuation of £6m is not considered to represent a major gamble. Cerci is keen to leave the Serie A club following a falling-out with the manager, Sinisa Mihajlovic.
Arsenal have opened preliminary discussions with Birmingham City over the signing of £8m defender Scott Dann. Bolton are working to come closer to meeting Shaun Wright-Phillips' £70,000-a-week wage demands.
Who is Jadson? Lowdown on new Gunner Part of Shakhtar's Brazilian setJadson is perhaps the best of Shakhtar Donetsk's large Brazilian contingent. He was brought to Ukraine from his first club, Atletico Paranaense in 2005. He was joined at the Ukrainian club by compatriots Willian, Ilsinho, Fernandinho, Luiz Adriano and most recently the Manchester United target Douglas Costa.
The architect of their successJadson has the characteristic gifts of a Brazilian attacking midfielder. He is well balanced, with a low centre of gravity and has exceptional footwork from either side. For Shakhtar he played as the central attacking midfielder of a 4-2-3-1, similar to Arsenal's current system. In seven seasons in Ukraine, Jadson won the title five times, as well as two cups.
That magical night in IstanbulJadson's peak as a Shakhtar player was the 2009 Uefa Cup final at Fenerbahce's stadium in Istanbul. After one of his trademark late runs into the box, he scored the winning goal in extra-time as Shakhtar beat Werder Bremen 2-1.
International recognitionHis international career has only just started, but he went to the Copa America and scored the opening goal from distance in Brazil's 2-2 draw with Paraguay.
Where will he fit in at Arsenal?His skills are perfect to replace Cesc Fabregas as the brain of the 4-3-3 system. Of similar build to Fabregas (and Samir Nasri), he should contribute goals from distance and from inside the box.
The Independent
