The two London clubs are in a war for his signature, but who needs him more?
Reports in the Daily Mail suggests that both Arsenal and Chelsea are interested in signing Real Madrid midfielder Sami Khedira this summer.
The Germany international is fresh from having played a key role in his nation winning the 2014 World Cup on Sunday, but contract issues means his time in the Spanish capital could well be up.
Khedira has just entered the final year of his current deal at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu and with no sign of an extension being signed, Madrid need to cash in on the 27-year-old now or face losing him on a free transfer in 12 months time.
It’s suggested that £20m would be enough to convince Los Blancos to sell and this has attracted attention from the Premier League, with both the Gunners and the Blues keen on signing another central midfielder.
Yet whether they actually need a player like Khedira or are simply tempted by the name is another matter, so fanatix takes a look at which London club the German would suit better.
Arsenal
The UK press is unanimous – Arsene Wenger wants a holding midfielder to partner ether Aaron Ramsey or Jack Wilshere in the middle, with the Independent just one of the newspapers to back up that claim.
This desire was shown when Wenger turned down the chance to bring former captain Cesc Fabregas back to the Emirates Stadium from Barcelona, because of the 27-year-old’s attacking intentions.
Khedira fits this bill much better, with the Madrid man having the skill and experience to operate in front of the back four.
However, fans in North London should not be led into thinking the former Stuttgart man is a defensive midfielder – he is not.
At the World Cup Joachim Low’s side lined up with three in the middle, with Bayern Munich’s Bastian Schweinsteiger tucked behind Toni Kroos and Khedira.
He is a box-to-box player with defensive credentials and would become frustrated allowing Ramsey or Wilshere to bomb forward at all times, much preferring to share the responsibility.
This would leave the back line exposed and as good as Laurent Koscielny and Per Mertesacker were last term, against the top sides Wenger’s men will come unstuck.
Chelsea
It’s an easy link to make for newspapers looking to think up a quick transfer story, as Jose Mourinho was the man who bought Khedira for Los Merengues in the first place back in 2010.
Yet dig a little deeper and it becomes clear that the midfield ace could well be the final piece of the jigsaw in what is increasingly looking like a title winning side at Stamford Bridge.
So far this summer the West Londoners have landed Fabregas and Atletico Madrid duo Diego Costa and Filipe Luis.
The Barca man and Filipe are direct replacements for departing veterans Frank Lampard and Ashley Cole respectively, whilst Costa is intended to be the world-class striker that was so clearly lacking in 2013/14.
Fabregas is likely to join Eden Hazard and either Oscar or Willian in a three man attacking midfield behind the 25-year-old, with the impressive Nemanja Matic one half of the midfield base.
Currently Matic’s partner would either be the inconsistent John Obi Mikel, or Ramires. The former has never truly lived up to the expectations that surrounded him, whilst the Brazilian is a solid squad player, but does little to inspire.
Khedira would fit this role perfectly however, with Matic exactly the sort of player that he would thrive alongside – with the duo sharing the responsibility in defence and attack and creating a formidable block in front of the back four.
Conclusion
Wenger would probably be better targeting either Lars Bender of Bayer Leverkusen or Southampton’s Morgan Schneiderlin, given the primarily defensive qualities and mentalities of the two players, who have also been regularly linked with the Gunners.
Mourinho, on the other hand, should do everything in his power to land Khedira.
READ MORE: Arsenal FC news.
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