The Guardian says the Serie A champions and current league leaders have tracked him for some weeks and made it clear that they are prepared to offer him a substantial increase on his £50,000-a-week Arsenal wage. Hleb has been tempted.

It has not gone unnoticed by Inter that the Belarus international has the option, under Article 17 of Fifa's transfer regulations, to buy out the remaining two years of his Arsenal contract and leave for rather less than the £11.2m that the club paid for him in 2005.

Meanwhile, The Times says Hleb has confided in several of his team-mates that he is planning to join Inter Milan and his representatives are understood to have agreed a four-year deal with the Italian champions.