Man Utd and Lionesses forward ‘closes in’ on move to Arsenal

Arsenal Women believe they have won the race to sign the star Manchester United striker and are closing in on the Lionesses forward, as per highly respected Gunners website Arseblog News.

Russo, 24, was subject of a world record £500,000 bid from Arsenal in January - which United had rebuffed - but it does appear that the club are closing in on the England striker with her contract expiring at the end of this month.

Our sources understand that there has been discussions with the North London side this summer and that the club are now confident they’ve done enough to get the deal over the line, despite interest from the NWSL and Lyon.

The striker was United’s joint top scorer with 10 goals for United last season and played a vital role in their best ever finish in the WSL and it is believed that Marc Skinner’s side did try to match Russo’s salary according to reports.

There was hope that United’s second place finish would be enough to keep some of the club’s biggest names in Manchester but, if Russo is to move to North London this month, it will strike another blow to the ambition of the Red Devils with key defender Ona Batlle set to be confirmed as a Barcelona player over the coming weeks.

Elsewhere, Manchester United are closing in on Scotland international midfielder Emma Watson, who is expected to join from Rangers imminently.