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Monday, July 11, 2011

Arsenal's Nicklas Bendtner being chased by Borussia Dortmund and Sporting Lisbon

Neither club has yet made an offer which matches the Gunners’ €13.5m asking price but 23-year-old Dane has been excused from club’s pre-season tour to finalise a deal


Borussia Dortmund and Sporting Lisbon are leading the race to sign Arsenal’s wantaway striker Nicklas Bendtner, according to the Mirror.

The 23-year-old Dane has repeatedly expressed his frustration at a lack of regular first team opportunities at the Emirates, and has been excused from the Gunners’ pre-season tour of the Far East reportedly in order to meet interested parties and finalise a move away.

Both Dortmund and Sporting have identified Bendtner as a top target, with the German side looking to build on last season’s astonishing Bundesliga triumph and the Portuguese outfit seeking to build a team capable of challenging the domestic duopoly of Benfica and Porto.

Bayern Munich and a host of English clubs were also believed to be tracking Bendtner but have been put off by Arsene Wenger’s €13.5 million asking price. Dortmund and Sporting are also yet to meet this valuation, although both have had opening offers rejected.

Arsenal’s willingness to part with Bendtner is thought to be borne out of the desire to use the sales of several fringe players to finance moves for top targets such as Juan Mata, Stewart Downing and Gary Cahill.

Defender Gael Clichy has already departed for Manchester City and keeper Manuel Almunia is thought to be close to an exit with clubs in Spain and Turkey interested.

The midfield duo of Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri, however, are believed to remain very much in Wenger’s plans.

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