Loic Remy transfer news: Arsenal to face battle with rivals Tottenham to land striker as Spurs hope to land Remy with promise of first team action

Arsenal remain the favourites to land French striker but north London rivals believe they can steal a march on the Gunners

Jack de Menezes
Monday 30 June 2014 09:14 BST
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Loic Remy doubles Newcastle's lead
Loic Remy doubles Newcastle's lead

Tottenham are confident that they can beat north London rivals Arsenal in the race to sign QPR striker Loic Remy by promising him regular first team action.

The France international is expected to leave Loftus Road this summer, after manager Harry Redknapp revealed last month that he has an £8m release clause in his contract. Arsenal have been strongly linked with the striker for a number of months, and Remy was seen at the Emirates towards the end of last season watching an Arsenal Premier League match.

Gunners’ manager Arsene Wenger is confident that he can land Remy to strengthen Arsenal’s attack after their Premier League collapse last season. Had Wenger signed a second striker to provide support to Olivier Giroud in January, Arsenal could’ve been celebrating a first Premier League trophy in 10 years, but instead they limped home to fourth behind Manchester City, Liverpool and Chelsea.

They did clinch the FA Cup thanks to the comeback victory over Hull at Wembley, but the general feeling at the Emirates is that the squad needs quality added both in attack and defence, especially given a number of exits this summer.

Bacary Sagna has already joined Manchester City while Nicklas Bendtner left the club after his contract expired, and captain Thomas Vermaelen could also be on the verge of a move to Manchester United after the Red Devils expressed an interest in the Belgian.

Signing Remy would give Arsenal a strong Plan B if lead striker Olivier Giroud was experiencing one of his ‘off days’, but Spurs believe that they can win the race to land Remy by giving him assurances of first team action.

Remy was spotted in the stands at The Emirates

Having impressed on a season-long loan with Newcastle last season, Spurs are believed to be keen in landing the 27-year-old to add to Emmanuel Adebayor and Harry Kane in attack. Remy’s 14 goals in 24 starts last term helped the Magpies to a top-ten finish, and with Spurs clearly lacking a goal threat having scored less times than all of their main rivals, new manager Mauricio Pochettino is likely to add to his options before the season gets underway.

There remains doubts over Erik Lamela’s future at White Hart Lane, given that the £30m forward has not played for Spurs since the 3-0 win over Stoke on 29 December last year.

Newcastle would like to keep hold of Remy for another season, but his desire to play in Europe – and specifically the Champions League – could have a major influence on where he will play next season.

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