Paris Saint-Germain are looking to derail Arsenal’s bid to sign Juventus full-back Stephan Lichtsteiner. According to Forza Italian Football, the French champions have had the Swiss international as a target for a long time now, and are looking to sign him in January. Lichtsteiner’s contract at Juventus expires at the end of the current campaign and the Italian champions will be looking to sell the defender for a fee when the transfer window opens in a couple of months rather than losing him for free next summer. PSG’s intrusion may be bad news for Arsenal, who are also in the market for the 30 year-old.
Talks of a new deal at the Juventus Stadium are at a stand-still, after Lichtsteiner reportedly demanded a €1 million increase on his €2 million per year salary. PSG believe they can meet these demands and bring the three-time Seria A winner to the Parc Des Princes.
Arsenal were reported to have made contact with Juventus over signing Lichtsteiner a couple of days ago. The Gunners are extremely short at the back, with first-choice right-back Mathieu Debuchy out with a long-term injury. A suspension to the makeshift replacement Calum Chambers meant that Arsenal had to play with a very inexperienced back 4 in a league game against Hull recently. The fans weren’t shy of expressing their disapproval at Arsene Wenger, who failed to bring in the required players last summer.
Nicknamed ‘Forrest Gump’ for his lung-busting forward runs, Lichtsteiner has been extremely impressive for the Old Lady in the last three years. Along with being defensively assured and dependable, he has scored 9 goals in 100 appearances, a fantastic tally for a full-back. At 30, he is now entering the last phase of his career. It will be interesting to see where he chooses to spend it.
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