ANY of the unease felt by some at the departure of Patrick Vieira from Arsenal may be tempered by the club being on the verge of agreeing a deal with Seville last night for Julio Baptista. As Vieira, the former captain, was being introduced by Juventus in Turin yesterday, Arsenal were finalising a contract for the Brazil forward to become the club’s second big signing of the summer.

In acting swiftly to strengthen the squad, Arsène Wenger, the manager, has tried to brush off doubts about the club’s aspirations, even before they play their opening friendly against Barnet today. Wenger has about £25 million to spend and is expected to sign two more players, including a goalkeeper, and must resolve wrangles with several senior players.

He must repair the relationship with Ashley Cole, tarnished after the “tapping-up” affair with Chelsea, and offer the defender a new contract or risk losing him in two years for nothing. Sol Campbell has been restless since not being given an automatic first-team place towards the end of the season, and it is not beyond question that Wenger would offload the defender, troubled by injuries for much of last season. Wenger is confident of Robert Pires, the midfield player, signing a new contract and Jose Antonio Reyes, the forward, has signed a six-year contract.

Baptista is unlike any striker that Wenger has signed in his nine years at Arsenal. Bulky and strong, he will provide a more physical presence, which the team have lacked since John Hartson and Ian Wright were sold. He has scored 38 goals in 63 matches in the past two seasons for Seville after moving from São Paulo as a defensive midfield player.

The clubs are very close to reaching agreement on a fee of about £15million, although they are haggling over the payment schedule. Arsenal will pay an initial fee, with further instalments that will be in part conditional on success in Europe. The deal is also conditional on Baptista obtaining a work permit. He has 11 caps for Brazil and is applying for a European passport.

“There is now a written offer for Baptista for €20 million (about £13.7 million),” José María del Nido, the Seville president, said. “It is much higher than the three previous ones, but we haven’t reached an agreement with Arsenal and the figures are still not close to what we are asking for. It looks increasingly clear that he will not remain at Seville.”

Baptista’s sale has become more pressing because he has refused to sign a new contract — his present deal has three years left — and the club would be forced to sell him for a greatly reduced price next season. By then, Baptista would have been playing in Spain for three years and, under Fifa regulations that came into effect recently, the forward would be able to leave for less than his £25 million buyout clause, if the fee was deemed unrealistic.

His preference had been to remain in Spain with Real Madrid or Barcelona. “We could get between €20 and 25 million for him this year, but if we wait until next year the (Fifa) tribunal will set a compensation figure and it will be much lower,” Del Nido said.

Baptista’s imminent arrival, on the back of the departure of Vieira, the midfield player, has echoes of Nicolas Anelka’s move to Real Madrid and, a year later, those of Emmanuel Petit and Marc Overmars to Barcelona. The loss of a world-class player may be unfortunate, but Wenger was shrewd enough to bring in Thierry Henry and Pires and turn them into stars. “I don’t look at the name, but at the quality,” Wenger said. “Once they are here, we will try to ensure that he will become a name.”

Wenger was annoyed that Vieira, when relatively unknown on joining Arsenal, had complained that the club had not signed world-class players. In the end, Wenger is generally proved correct.

THE WANTED MAN

Born: October 1, 1981
Height: 1.83m
Weight: 72kg
Previous clubs: São Paulo and Seville (38 goals in 63 matches)
Brazil: debut against Japan in 2001, 11 caps, two goals.
Joaquin Caparros, the Seville coach, converted him from a midfield player into a forward, earning him the nickname ‘the beast’

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