Internazionale may have tempted Nemanja Vidic to Serie A, but they have already accepted defeat in luring Bacary Sagna to the San Siro ahead of next season.
With his deal at Manchester United due to expire during the summer, Vidic has already agreed to join the Nerazzurri and was earlier this month photographed putting pen to paper on his contract. This will end his eight-and-a-half year spell at Old Trafford, during which time he has won five Premier League titles and one UEFA Champions League.
Having captured the signature of the 32-year-old Serbian international, Inter had set their sights on another free transfer from England, with Sagna set to become a free agent when his deal at Arsenal expires at the end of the campaign. However, the president of the Serie A club has indicated that the French international will not be heading to Italy.
“I think Bacary Sagna won’t arrive because he has decided to stay in England and in the Premier League,” Erick Thohir told reporters at Milan airport. “Right now we only have (Yuto) Nagatomo and Jonathan. If one of them gets injured you need somebody else to come in. But we have to accept the fact Sagna wants to stay in England. We understand and in that case we might bring in a young player from our academy.”
Whilst this may give the Gunners renewed hope of persuading the 31-year-old to remain at the Emirates Stadium, there remains a good chance he will instead opt to sign for a rival club. Manchester City, who have poached a number of players from the Londoners in recent years, are said to be interested, as are capital neighbours Chelsea.
Sagna, who has been in England since 2007, has established himself as one of the best right fullbacks in Europe in recent years. But with the uncertainty over Arsene Wenger’s future, and the reluctance of the club to offer the player the length of contract he reportedly seeks, the former Auxerre star could become another huge loss for Arsenal.
