Brady's pounds 1m move to Arsenal wrecked.

Byline: By Steve Dyson and Nick McCarthy

A pounds 1 MILLION move by Birmingham City boss Karren Brady to become the managing director of Arsenal may have been wrecked by the police probe into football corruption.

Brady - a lifelong Arsenal fan - "would have loved" the top job at Arsenal according to a close friend, but has now pledged to stay with the Blues until her name is cleared in the bungs probe.

According to reports today, Brady was shortlisted for the job at the Gunners following the departure of their current managing director Keith Edelman. Although Ms Brady herself declined to comment on the stories, a close friend of the 39-year-old said: "Karren loves Arsenal and would have loved the job, but she doesn't feel it's appropriate now that she is involved in this police investigation.

"She is furious at police for what their actions have cost her personally and the stress she has been caused.

"But now the investigation has been started she is determined to fully clear her name and won't leave Blues until she is completely exonerated."

Brady and Blues' owner David Sullivan's arrests last month on suspicion of conspiracy to defraud and false accounting.

The pair were questioned and released on bail while the investigation continues. Both strenuously deny any wrongdoing.

Brady's close friend said: "She is, to be honest, quite galled as she has never done anything wrong and has had no knowledge or involvement in any way with anything untoward at St Andrew's.

"But she wants to have her head held high over these spurious police probes before she considers any other job."

Asked specifically about whether Ms Brady was set to leave Blues for Arsenal before the police probe began, the close friend insisted "there had been no interview".

But the friend added: "The Emirates is a beautiful stadium.

Karren is on pounds 300,000 at Blues. A managing director at Arsenal would be earning in excess of pounds 1 million. It would be a tremendous job.

"Karren is a proven, successful managing director in football, and has turned Birmingham City from a loss-making business to a financially sound club. She has previously been linked with Chelsea and would have made a great job of it at Arsenal.

"But this lady has integrity and she strongly feels that she should consider no other job until this investigation is over and her innocence is proven."

Islington-born Brady became the youngest managing director in the top flight of English football when Sullivan handed her the Blues job in 1993, when she was aged just 23.

The mother-of-two was strongly tipped to take the role of managing director at GCAP, the owners of Capital Radio in 2006, but she decided to stay with Blues.

Brady, who is married to former Blues player Paul Peschisolido, made a full recovery from a brain aneurysm in 2006.

CAPTION(S):

BLUES PLEDGE... Karren Brady