Liverpool set to beat Arsenal in race to sign Nuri Sahin

Liverpool: Liverpool are set to beat competition from Arsenal in the pursuit of Real Madrid midfielder Nuri Sahin.

The Turkey international will put the finishing touches to a one-year loan deal once the Spanish champions have concluded the signing of Luka Modric from Tottenham. Sahin, 23, has found regular first team opportunities hard to come by since moving to the Bernabeu from Borussia Dortmund last summer and had been keen on a loan move to Arsenal. Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho, however, is keen for the player to continue his development under the tutelage of his former Chelsea colleague Brendan Rodgers, who took over at Anfield this summer. Moreover, Mourinho had been reluctant to loan Sahin to a potential Champions League rival, while his long-standing feud with Arsene Wenger also played a part in his reluctance to send the player to north London. Arsenal had identified the playmaker as the ideal candidate to cover for the absence of Jack Wilshere, who recently suffered another setback in his rehabilitation from a long-term injury, and bolster a midfield which looks likely to lose Alex Song to Barcelona. Sahin, who has been sweet-talked into a move to Merseyside by former Anfield favourite Xabi Alonso, now looks set to become Liverpool’s third major signing of the summer. Rodgers has already spent £15million in order to reinforce his side’s central midfield with the addition of Joe Allen from Swansea and brought in Fabio Borini from Roma for £10m. Greg Stobart/Goal.com