Arsenal are ready to splash the cash on Atletico Madrid goalkeeper Jan Oblak.
The Gunners are on the lookout for Petr Cech’s long-term replacement and Spanish media outlet AS has claimed the club are poised to meet his £89 million release clause.
Cech will have just a year left on his contract this summer and the report says that Arsenal’s director of football, Raul Sanllehi, wants Oblak to replace the former Chelsea stopper.
Oblak signed for Benfica at the age of 17 and was part of the team that won the domestic treble in the 2013/14 season.
He joined Atletico for €16 million in 2014, becoming La Liga’s most expensive goalkeeper of all time.
Oblak made his senior international for Slovenia in 2012 against Norway in a World Cup qualifying game.
He became the first-choice goalkeeper of the national team after the international retirement of Samir Handanovic at the end of 2015.
Both Liverpool and Paris-Saint-Germain have been linked with Oblak, but Arsenal appear to be leading the race for his services.
Cech has undoubtedly been one of the finest goalkeepers to grace the Premier League, although the Czech goalie will turn 36 in May and his talents appear to have been on the wane this season.
The Gunners have the worst defensive record of the top six sides in the Premier League, but Oblak’s addition would provide the platform for them to improve on that next season.
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