Arsenal’s attempts to shift players from their wage bill before revamping the squad this summer are set to gather pace with Hamburg and Hanover having expressed an interest in signing Johan Djourou, The Guardian reports.

The Switzerland centre-half spent the second half of the season on loan at Hanover, where he played 14 times, and impressed the Bundesliga club sufficiently for them to seek to sign him on another season-long loan. Djourou is under contract at Arsenal until the summer of 2015 and they would prefer to move the 26-year-old on, with Hamburg's interest potentially offering them a route to achieving that aim.

"I know Johan very well from my time in Switzerland [with Basel]," said Oliver Kreuzer, Hamburg's sporting director. "He's a very interesting player and someone you have to look at if he comes on the market. He'd be a great solution for us in defence. We're interested in a loan, but also in buying him."

Nicklas Bendtner, who was loaned to Juventus last term, has also attracted interest from Bundesliga clubs – principal among them Eintracht Frankfurt – and is expected to move before the start of the season.

***

Montpelier president Louis Nicollin has denied any interest in QPR's Djibril Cisse, 31, who is currently on loan at Qatari club Al-Gharafa.

***

Roma's Bosnian midfielder Miralem Pjanic, 23, has played down rumours of a move to Borussia Dortmund as a replacement for 21-year-old Mario Gotze.