Arsenal ace Wilshere tempted by move from Gunners to play in Chinese Super League

Jack Wilshere

Mesut Ozil turned down a head-spinning £100million, five-year deal to switch to the Chinese Super League…but will his Arsenal team-mate Jack Wilshere be able to turn down a lucrative contract in China?

Gunners playmaker Ozil says he snubbed a move to the CSL because he wanted to try to win more trophies with Arsene Wenger’s men. His decision came even after personal intervention, of a kind, from Chinese president Xi Jinping. He is said to be a big fan of Ozil and Arsenal and even sent a request to the Emirates to have a signed Ozil jersey sent to him.

Now attention switches to England ace Wilshere, who is currently out injured with a broken leg he sustained while on loan for AFC Bournemouth in a Premier League defeat at Tottenham two weeks ago.

But the Arsenal star, 25, is said to be considering a move to the CSL if he doesn’t secure a return from the south coast to the Emirates Stadium. With the future of Wenger still unresolved, Wilshere’s destiny remains unknown, too. Previously, Manchester City have shown interest in his services. But he has proved to be injury-prone and a move to the Etihad Stadium seems extremely unlikely.

The UK press claims Wilshere’s future in London is far from guaranteed as he prepares for crunch talks with boss Arsene Wenger. One paper, the Daily Star, says: “Wilshere will explore any options that arrive from China as he seeks a return to the international scene.”

A potential destination for Wilshere could easily be Shanghai SIPG, who have spent close to £100million on acquiring the services of Samba stars Oscar and Hulk. They are managed by André Villas-Boas; and, of course, the former Tottenham manager knows all about the attributes of Wilshere from his time bossing Arsenal’s north London rivals.