Arsenal transfer round-up: 2 new links and 3 big blows
Jul 27, 2016 at 11:24 AM
Arsene Wenger is one of the many managers in England that are under pressure to improve the quality in their squad to enable themselves to compete with the best next season.
The Gunners have added one big name in Granit Xhaka to their squad and are in search of a few other players who can help them to success next season. So let’s take a look at all the stories surrounding the Emirates today:
Let’s start with a new link that sees Arsenal battle it out with rivals Liverpool for Inter Milan midfielder Marcelo Brozovic.
The versatile 23-year old caught the eye of many European clubs with his performances for Croatia in the EURO16 in France and is high on the transfer target list for Jurgen Klopp. He is expected to be available around the £25 million mark and it is to be seen if the Gunners make an official move for the midfielder this summer.
Moving on, the papers today ran a story that comes as a big blow for the Gunners in their pursuit of a striker.
It is reported that Arsenal have had a £29.3million bid for striker Alexandre Lacazette rejected by Lyon who are not ready to let the player leave this summer. The 25-year old is in sizzling form over the last couple of years and has revealed that he will leave Lyon only for a Champions League club.
Arsenal are ready to provide him with European football and monetary benefits but have been rejected in their approach for the French star for a move this summer.
This news comes just days after Gonzalo Higuain, another top transfer target is revealed to be close to a move to Juventus on a big money move.
In other news, the Gunners have reportedly made an enquiry about Valencia defender Shkodran Mustafi.
The German national has been impressive in his stint with Spain and it is understood that Wenger has identified the 24-year old as an able understudy for Per Mertesacker and Laurent Koscielny in the squad. No official word is out on the price of the player but an announcement will be made in the upcoming days if there is any progress in the story.
And for the final story of the day, something that Arsenal fans will not like, Riyad Mahrez, the top transfer target for the Gunners this summer has spoken about his move to Arsenal.
It was revealed that Mahrez not really bothered about the rumors that are linking him with a move away from Leicester City, atleast according to fellow teammate Demarai Gray.
It was earlier reported that Arsenal are close to procuring the PFA Player of the Year from the last year on a £41.8m deal this summer but a move is yet to be initialized and it now looks like the Gunners may slowly have lost the plot with some reports eve suggesting that Chelsea have overtaken the Emirates franchise in the race for the Algerian’s signature this summer.
Mahrez surely has the potential to improve the Arsenal squad but Wenger will have to act fast or look elsewhere for quality additions ahead of the next season.