London, Jan 5: Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger is ready to bid for Spain and Barcelona star striker David Villa during the January transfer window.

The Catalans demand nearly £16 million for the 31-year-old as Wenger will raise funds by selling Johan Djourou, Sebastien Squllaci and Andrey Asharvin. The Gunners have already sent striker Marouane Chamakh to West Ham United on loan until the end of the season.

The La Liga giants had earlier rejected a loan offer from Liverpool while Tottenham and Chelsea had also shown interest to sign the World Cup winner. However, Chelsea have secured the signing of Demba Ba and would not consider moves for a player above 30.

Moreover, Villa will be keen to move to the Emirates Stadium considering UEFA Champions League football.

Wenger will be eyeing £15 million move for Villa while he also plans to bring in defender Jonas Olsson from West Brom Albion. The Frenchman has £70 million in his pocket to spend during the transfer window with Atletico Madrid striker Adrian Lopez another target.

Meanwhile, Barca still owe Arsenal money from Alex Song's transfer move in the summer. The Gunners are also ready to bid for 20-year-old winger Wilfried Zaha from Crystal Palace.

Fighting for a first-team place in the squad of superstars is not Villa expected. The central striker was moved to the left with Lionel Messi playing the false No. 9 in the middle. Villa returned to full training at the start of the new season after missing majority of the last season due to a broken leg.

The Spaniard also missed EURO 2012 and is currently struggling to find a place in the national squad under Vicente Del Bosque.

Villa, who is Spain's all-time leading goal-scorer with 53 goals, has made 17 appearances this season scoring five goals including games against Celtic, Spartak Moscow and Benfica in the UEFA Champions League.

During his time at Valencia between 2005 and 2010, Villa scored 128 times in 217 appearances and 40 goals in 96 games for Barcelona.

OneIndia News