Arsenal hopeful of signing Klaas-Jan Huntelaar and Thierry Henry in January transfer window

Gunners eager to boost strike force

Arsenal are hopeful of bolstering their strikeforce in January by signing Klaas-Jan Huntelaar from Schalke and securing Thierry Henry on a second loan spell from New York Red Bulls.

Huntelaar’s Schalke contract is set to expire next summer and his refusal to sign a new deal has prompted the German club to listen to offers now rather than risk losing him for nothing.

The two clubs remain apart in their valuations of the 29-year-old but the Gunners are confident a deal in the region of £5m can be struck report the Evening Standard.

However, as an insurance policy against any failure to agree terms, manager Arsene Wenger is keen to extend Henry’s deal beyond last season’s spell which lasted just over six weeks.

The Red Bulls are open to Henry returning to north London for a third time but want the 36-year-old back in the United States for the start of the Major League Soccer season in March.

Arsenal are exploring the possibility of taking Henry until the end of the season but it is understood there are other issues to be resolved including the covering of insurance payments against any injury sustained.

Henry scored 226 goals in eight years with the club before leaving for Barcelona in a £16m deal in 2007 and added two more to that tally in seven games when he returned on loan last season.

Wenger is also monitoring Crystal Palace’s highly regarded Wilfried Zaha, although the Championship side are keen to delay any transfer until next summer.

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