Roma Prepared to Bid £7m for Arsenal Forward – Report

Roma are keen to secure the services of Arsenal forward Gervinho as manager Rudi Garcia looks to be reunited with the Ivory Coast international.

The pair worked together at Lille and Gervinho played a huge role in helping Garcia's side win the Ligue 1 title back in 2011.

Gervinho fired 15 league goals in the title winning season and was subsequently sold to Arsenal for £10.8m two summers ago. However, he has failed to impress in the Premier League and has been unable to rediscover the form that saw him become one of the most sought after players in France.

The 26 year old was handed just 18 Premier League appearances last season as he struggled to convince manager Arsene Wenger that he deserved regular game time ahead of Lukas Podolski, Theo Walcott or Olivier Giroud.

With Gervinho struggling to make an impact in north London, the Daily Mail reports that Roma are willing to test Arsenal's resolve by making an offer of £7m for the forward.

The former Lille forward certainly enjoyed the best moments of his career playing for Garcia and the new Roma boss may well believe that his relationship with the player may persuade him to seek an exit from the Emirates.

Garcia was appointed as Roma manager back in June and will be hoping to make a number of changes to his squad over the coming months. As well as Gervinho it is believed the Italian club are closing in on Holland international Kevin Strootman.

The Dutch media claim that the PSV Eindhoven midfielder- who has been heavily linked with Manchester United - is close to joining Roma in what would be a major coup for the club.

Strootman has been linked with the likes of Inter Milan, United and AC Milan in recent months and admitted that he knew of interest from a number of different sides.

"There are several clubs interested but only when they reach an agreement with PSV do I come into the picture," said Strootman.

"This is not to say that any are in the world's top six. There is also interest from Russia, but that is not an option for me. I do not make hasty decisions about my future.

"The opinion of Netherlands Coach Louis van Gaal is also very important with the World Cup in Brazil next year."