Roma fly to London to seal Willam Gallas deal
-
Roma in London to seal free transfer of Arsenal contract rebel William Gallas
Contract talks: William Gallas
Roma have stepped up their bid to sign William Gallas by sending dealmaker Daniele Prade to London.
The Serie A club's sporting director was at the Emirates for Arsenal's destruction of Porto on Tuesday night - a match Gallas missed because of a calf injury - and is keen to reach a pre-contract agreement with the France international.
Gallas, 32, is set to become a free agent in the summer and has been so far unable to agree a deal to stay with the Gunners.
Roma boss Claudio Ranieri brought the defender to England when he was in charge of Chelsea in 2006 and this week confirmed he would welcome a reunion at the Olympic Stadium.
Arsenal will break with their policy of offering players over 30 one-year deals, but a draft new two-year contract is believed to come with the demand that Gallas takes a £20,000 a week reduction on his current £80,000 a week deal.
While Roma are keen to take advantage, the high wage demands are also a problem for the Italians, though Gallas has previously indicated he would like to experience playing in another league before retiring.
Prade has others on his shopping list, keeping a close eye on Porto quartet Hulk, Radamel Falcao, Jorge Fucile and Alvaro Pereira.
Watch list: Roma are also interested in Porto striker Falcao (left)