Arsenal have a mixed emotions in their pursuit of signing Real Madrid goalkeeper Iker Casillas.
The 33-year-old’s contract at Santiago Bernabéu runs down at the end of next season and has not signed a new deal to extend his stay at the club he joined since he was a kid beyond 2015.
According to the Spanish newspaper AS, Casillas has held talks with Real president Florentino Perez. The La Liga giant’s chief has convinced the stopper to continue with his current employers till his contract expires next summer.
The Spain international has seen his first team appearances being limited under their former manager Jose Mourinho. The situation did not change under their current boss Carlo Ancelotti as the Italian manager used Casillas only during the Champions League games and Copa del Rey fixtures.
Casillas started for Real during their Champions League final victory over their arch rivals Atletico Madrid in may. After the win Perez spoke to his compatriot and informed him that he can leave the Spanish capital club on a free transfer in 2015.
The Independent reported Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has long been interested in signing Casillas and wanted to make an approach for him in the summer transfer window. However, with AS report latest claims the Gunners will not manage to land their keeper target in the upcoming transfer window.
If the North London club managed to seal a deal for Casillas next summer, it will give Wenger more options in that position. However, Arsenal’s major concern is to find a keeper to compete with Wojciech Szczęsny after Łukasz Fabiański joined Swansea City on a free transfer.
Whether Wenger will wait till the next summer or will he dump his plans of signing Casillas and move to other options in this summer transfer window is something that needs to be seen.
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