Arsenal last night accepted a £23.1m bid for Patrick Vieira from Real Madrid, according to Spanish radio reports.

Cadena SER, reported that the deal had been agreed and the move would go through before tomorrow’s deadline for player registration for the qualifying rounds of the Champions League.

Vieira is believed to have already agreed terms on a four-year deal with Real Madrid and his desire to move to Spain was highlighted by his readiness to accept a pay cut on his current salary.

The report also claimed that Arsenal’s manager Arsene Wenger would look to sign Porto midfielder Maniche as a direct replacement for Vieira. However, having already sold Ricardo Carvalho and Paulo Ferreira to Chelsea and Deco to Barcelona, the European champions will be reluctant to lose another player so close top the new season.