Gervinho is coming to England, but where will he end up?

The imminent transfer of Gervinho has become a hot topic amongst fans of many clubs including ourselves, Arsenal and Manchester City with probably more clubs talking about it in the background.

On the surface of it, if you believe any of the madness and speculation that is going around at the moment, it is those aforementioned three clubs that are at the forefront of the race to secure the Ligue 1 winner, but the question is just where will he end up? And do Newcastle really have a chance of landing the Ivory Coast international?

I don't think it's wrong to say that Manchester City and Arsenal are operating in a bracket that is above us at the minute. One day we may get back up there, one day, but being realistic it's going to take a lot of time and patience with a huge slice of fortune squeezed in for good measure.

Could we really beat the likes of those two to a signing? Well it obviously depends on the player himself first and foremost. If Europe is a deciding factor for then then, no, we won't beat the likes of Manchester City and Arsenal to a signing.

However there are reasons why we could still have a chance of landing some heavily sought after players. I mean we pulled off a coup when we signed Hatem Ben Arfa for a starter plus we apparently have a good reputation in France, which is a start, and has apparently helped us to the verge of signing Yohan Cabaye. They aren't the only reasons why we could trump two of the big four though.

First off you have to take a look at where Gervinho will fit in at the other clubs. Is he really good enough to oust some of their players at the moment? His reputation would suggest so, but nobody really knows. With the pressure of being in the top four being so great perhaps it would put them off making a move for someone who is untried and untested in the Premier League.

We could offer a starting role in the team from day one. There is little doubt that he would improve our team and he would have very little competition to face with regard to a starting place. He could play in front of 50,000 fans every other week with his mates Cheik Tiote and Yohan Cabaye, and he would more than likely be adored for doing so.

Clutching at straws? Maybe. The players agent however is not giving the game away and is remaining steadfastly non-committal on the future of his client.

“Nothing is finalised on Gervinho’s future,” Pascal Boisseau told The Journal. “Gervinho will make his decision either by the end of the week or very early next week. He has many options and there has been a lot of interest in him."

“For the moment, we’re not in a position to say anything about where he will go. I can’t say anything about Newcastle – we have a good relationship with them and other clubs. The matter is confidential and it is impossible to confirm where he will be going.”

It's nice to hear that they have a good relationship with Newcastle - it could help when it comes to party invitations or borrowing some sugar at some point in the future. It doesn't mean he will end up with us though. Equally there is nothing to say that he won't end up with us.

So in summary, I do hold out some slim hope that Gervinho will end up with us, although the words 'slim' and 'hope' are particularly pertinent. Being realistic it's unlikely that the player will turn down the chance to be challenging for honours at a Champions League club so we'll more than likely miss out and I feel that waiting until the end of this week/start of next week is just dragging out any lingering hopes.

At least we tried though, which is more than I expected us to do. Of course we don't know how hard we really tried but at least there was some flicker of intent for a brief moment. It could still happen but I'm prepared for it not to take place.

Now we should move onto perhaps more realistic targets.