And the Sunday newspaper claims the French tactician has discussed a move for Barton with senior members of staff.The 28-year-old has always been considered a highly talented footballer but his well publicised problems off the pitch have given him a bad reputation which has clearly affected his career.
However, Barton has kicked his drinking habit and has gone some way to repairing his image which has led Wenger to consider an official approach for him.The former Manchester City man has just one year left on his £65,000 a week deal and Newcastle have made it clear that they would not be renewing his contract.
It therefore means the club - who sold captain Kevin Nolan last week to West Ham - are willing to listen to offers for Barton thought to be in the region of £1.5m.Barton caused a stir last week when he reacted to Nolan's departure on the social networking site Twitter, suggesting that himself, defender Jose Enrique and winger Jonas Gutierrez would be the next to leave.Since that incident, he has said he would like to stay at St James' Park but would consider a move to a big club if an approach was made.“I don’t want to leave Newcastle, my family’s settled in the area, I’ve got a great working relationship with everybody at the club," Barton claimed.“But if someone came in and, hypothetically, offered me Champions League football, whether I’d signed a five, six or seven-year deal at Newcastle, I’d have to consider it.”With doubts over the futures of midfield duo Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri, Wenger would be keen to add a combative and competitive player to his squad.It was thought that he was considering an offer for West Ham's Scott Parker but at 30-years-old and with a valuation of £10m, Barton would represent a cheaper alternative.
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