Vincent Enyeama’s  agent says the Nigeria goalkeeper just missed out on a deal to Arsenal, after the English club baulked at a 2 million Euro fee demanded by his Israeli club Hapoel Tel Aviv.

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It was reported last week that Enyeama had impressed Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, who was the at the stadium commentating Nigeria’s international friendly against France for French TV station TF1.

Tony Martich, who represents the player, confirmed the story when he told the Israeli press on Tuesday that both parties had agreed on personal terms for the player but could not finalise the deal due to the size of the fee demanded by Hapoel.

Wenger subsequently opted to instead extend the contract of current second choice keeper Lukasz Fabianski.
“Vincent was very close to sealing a move to Arsenal, he had already agreed personal terms but Hapoel demanded €2 million — and Arsenal pulled out,” Martich told the Israeli press.

“Israeli clubs need to understand that the Ligat Ha’Al doesn’t mean much to the biggest clubs in the world.”
Another potential move to Spain’s Espanyol fell through when the La Liga side extended the contract of current goalkeeper Carlos Idriss Kameni.

The goalkeeper is currently with Nigeria at a training camp in Malta ahead of a dicey 2010 World Cup qualifier against Tunisia on Saturday, and told KickOffNigeria.com that he is not thinking about a transfer until after the game.
“My focus right now is on this match because it is very important for us to get a good result against Tunisia. That is the only thing I am thinking of. Everything else will come after this game.”