Arsène Wenger in talks with Fiorentina over buying midfielder Felipe Melo

Arsène Wenger has opened talks with Fiorentina over the purchase of the midfielder Felipe Melo, and the Arsenal manager has proposed to use Emmanuel Eboué as a makeweight in the deal.



Melo has a release clause of €25m (£21.5m) in his recently signed contract, which Arsenal deem to be too expensive, but Fiorentina are open to player-plus-cash offers and they have indicated that Eboué, who fell from favour at the Emirates last season, is a possible option, although the Ivorian's value of around £4m would still appear to put Melo beyond Arsenal's means.

The Brazil international's release clause, however, does not apply next month, with Fiorentina reasoning that they might be able to generate an auction for his signature the closer that they get to the summer transfer deadline and end up with more than €25m; Juventus are among the other clubs to have registered their interest. But Arsenal hope they might be able to force Fiorentina down next month, as a game of brinkmanship looks set to play out.

"Wenger wants to talk to me," said Pantaleo Corvino, the Fiorentina sporting director. "I have no objection also because Eboué seems a valid swap."

Wenger has already signed the defender Thomas Vermaelen from Ajax for £10m and, given his transfer budget stands at around £15m, he must generate additional funds through sales. He is keen to cash in on the defender Philippe Senderos who, despite his disappointing season-long loan at Milan, has attracted interest from the French champions Bordeaux.

Arsenal have also channelled their energies into tying key players to new deals and the striker Robin van Persie has signed until 2014. The club is preparing to announce the encouraging news, which follows Theo Walcott committing himself towards the end of last season and the young players Kieran Gibbs and Jack Wilshere agreeing new long-term contracts more recently.

"We are embarked on a journey that we believe will result in us having a truly world-class team, winning trophies over the next five years of Arsenal's history," said Ivan Gazidis, the club's chief executive.

I have heard we could let eboue go in that direction to get melo.