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The president of the club, Jose Maria del Nido, confirmed that he rejected the offer of 20 million euros from London for the Brazilian Julio Baptista.
Arsenal, which had an unsuccessful season last year, plans to rejuvenate this summer. The first purchase of the London team was the defender Aleksandras Hleb, but it seems he will not be the only new player in the Gunners' ranks.
"This offer is much higher than the previous three, but so far we have not reached an agreement with Arsenal," said J.M.del Nido. "The amount they are offering is far from what we are asking for."
Yesterday, the team coached by A. Wenger bid farewell to defender Patrick Vieira. The solid compensation of 20 million euros received for him will likely be used to acquire desired players, with Baptista at the top of the list.
"We are not in a hurry. The player has a valid contract and if we fail to reach an agreement, Baptista will represent Sevilla once again next season,"
The defender J.Baptista arrived in Spain in the summer of 2003 from the Sao Paulo club for almost 3 million dollars. Under the guidance of coach Joaquin Caparros, last season the technical Brazilian scored 18 goals in the Spanish championship.
The player has also attracted attention from two Spanish teams - and Madrid. However, J.M.del Nido confirmed that neither of them has yet to submit specific offers.
