Higuain to seal £22m Arsenal switch as Real Madrid sanction sale

Real Madrid president Florentino Pérez has sanctioned the sale of Gonzalo Higuain to Arsenal for a fee of £22million..

Higuain has already agreed personal terms with the Gunners and will become the north London club's record signing, subject to a successful medical.

The deal to take the Argentine striker to the Emirates, which will surpass the £15million Arsenal paid for Andrey Arshavin in 2009, represents a significant shift in the club’s transfer policy.

Higuain: May be the buy of the season

Arsene Wenger sees the signing of Higuain, who scored 16 La Liga goals for Real last season, as a real statement of intent as he bids to end the club's eight-year trophy drought.

Arsenal were waiting on Madrid to appoint a new manager and approve the deal but Bernabeu chief Pérez has now decided to give the go-ahead to Higuain's switch before confirming Jose Mourinho's successor.

The 25-year-old also attracted interest from Juventus but wanted to link up with Wenger and is expected to seal his move to the Emirates shortly.

MAN UTD STRIKE PERSONAL TERMS WITH BARCELONA'S THIAGO

Manchester United will push to complete the signing of Barcelona midfielder Thiago Alcantara over the weekend.

Sources suggested a deal could've been announced yesterday, but minor details still needed to be ironed out.

The replacement for Paul Scholes?

Discussions between the two clubs will continue over the weekend.

Personal terms between United and Thiago have been struck, with the midfielder agreeing a deal worth £5 million-a-year.

Wilfried Zaha to undergo Manchester United medical

Wilfried Zaha will have contract talks and undergo a medical with Manchester United in the next 48 hours.

United have been given permission to speak with the England international by Crystal Palace and Press Association Sport understands he will travel north with his advisor Will Salthouse to conclude the deal.

Zaha: set to join United

It is anticipated the 20-year-old will immediately be loaned back to Palace for the remainder of the season.

Sir Alex Ferguson is a long-time admirer of Zaha and last week watched him in Palace's FA Cup third round replay defeat at Stoke.

In addition, Ferguson's assistant Mike Phelan was at Burnley for a recent Championship game, and with Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger confirming earlier this week that the Gunners were not interested in the young wide-man, United had the way clear to seal a deal.

There was a brief delay as the Red Devils were unable to conclude the transfer in the same manner in which they secured the services of Chris Smalling from Fulham two years ago, when they agreed the deal but left him to finish the season at Craven Cottage before completing the transfer.

However, those issues have now been resolved and the deal is expected to be finalised before the weekend. Born in the Ivory Coast, he emigrated to England with his family when he was just four. His footballing prowess was soon obvious and after joining Palace's youth ranks he eventually made his debut in March 2010 against Cardiff.

Zaha has gone on to become a key component of Palace's promotion push, which is why manager Ian Holloway was so keen for him to remain with the club for the remainder of the season.

His performances at club level were good enough to attract the attention of Roy Hodgson, who handed him an international bow in Sweden last November.

Having already appeared for England at youth level, Hodgson is optimistic Zaha sees his future with the Three Lions, although until he makes a competitive appearance, he has the option of playing for Ivory Coast.