EXCLUSIVE
By Ed Aarons

Michel Bastos’ agent has confirmed that the Brazilian is in discussions with two Premier League clubs but denied that he has reached an agreement to sign for Fulham.

Le Parisien reported that the 29-year-old will complete a £7 million transfer to Craven Cottage from Lyon today after agreeing personal terms. But Goal.com has learned that another unnamed Premier League club is also in contention to sign the versatile left-sided player who has won 10 international caps, with Liverpool rumoured to be interested.
“At this moment we have different options for him but I think it is close,” Bastos’ agent Emmanuel De Kerchove told Goal.com.

“He is discussing with two clubs in England and Fulham is one of them. But at the moment I would prefer not to say the other one. We will see what happens as the day goes on.”

Bastos has scored twice in two substitute appearances for Lyon in Ligue 1 this season. He joined from Lille in 2009 and had been tipped to follow former Sunderland striker Asamaoh Gyan to United Arab Emirates side Al Ain.

But De Kerchove now expects a permanent deal with a Premier League team to be signed before the transfer window closes on Friday.

He said: “The market in the UAE closes in one month so there is not the same urgency. But at this moment the most concrete interest is in England and I expect something to happen today.”

It’s always a big occasion when Liverpool host Arsenal but two games into the season both of these sides are surprisingly still waiting for their first Premier League win of the campaign.

Brendan Rodgers’ side managed to scrape past Hearts in the Europa League on Thursday after surviving a late scare and were beaten on the opening day at West Brom.

But the score-draw against Premier League champions Manchester City last weekend was more encouraging and the Reds may have cause for optimism that Rodgers’ impact can be a positive one. Liverpool are evens (2.00) to pick up their first league win of the season here.

Arsenal may be without a win as yet but they still have one point more than they had at this stage of last season.

The third game of that campaign saw the Gunners famously spanked 8-2 at Old Trafford but it seems there will be no repeat of that defending here – Arsene Wenger’s men have yet to concede a goal.

With a more solid base to work from, all it needs is for new boys Lukas Podolski and Olivier Giroud to start scoring and the north London side will be on their way.

Arsenal are 11/4 (3.75) to win the game, while a third consecutive draw is available at 5/2 (3.50) .

In the goalscorer markets, Luis Suarez is favourite to find the net – as he has done in each of his last two games for Liverpool.

The Uruguayan forward is looking sharp and can be backed to net first in this one at 9/2 (5.50) .

But after two goalless draws for Arsenal so far, it may be that nobody finds a way through at Anfield on Sunday. Another 0-0 can be backed at 10/1 (11.00) .

While that is never the most entertaining of bets to plump for, it does seem unlikely that there will be goals galore here. In the eight competitive games played by these two this season, both teams have scored in just two of them.

Midfielder Mikel Arteta identified the conundrum, saying: “We need to find the right balance. You might be more creative, but you may become more open and concede more goals.”

This probably is not the game for the Gunners to suddenly go gung-ho. As a result, betting against both teams to score in this one is the pick – that’s available at a chunky evens (2.00) .

For the value bet, consider backing Arsenal’s Santi Cazorla to be the man to find a way through. He’s coming off the best goalscoring season of his career at Malaga and has netted in three of his last four starts for Spain.

Santi Cazorla is 12/1 (13.00) to score first and that’s a distinct possibility if he can muscle his way to the front of the free-kick queue.

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Adam Bate is a professional freelance journalist who specialises in football and betting. He is editor of GhostGoal which can be found here – you can also follow Adam on

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Hoffenheim have reached an agreement with Ryan Babel over the immediate termination of his contract that originally ran until the summer of 2013.

The Dutchman joined the German side from Liverpool in January 2011, but failed to live up to the high expectations at the Bundesliga club.

Babel has made 51 official appearances for Hoffenheim in the past 18 months, scoring a meagre six goals in the process.

The 25-year-old was demoted to the reserves earlier this summer after head coach Markus Babbel voiced his dismay with the attacker’s attitude in training, and he has now been given the freedom to find a new club.

“Five or six clubs have made an approach for Ryan. The plan is to sign a one-year deal somewhere and try and earn a move to a big club again,” Babel’s agent Winnie Haatrecht stated to De Telegraaf.

The Netherlands international has recently been linked with Serie A side Fiorentina.