A handful of £50million-plus targets have been drawn up on Arsenal’s defender transfer shortlist, as they eye further reinforcements in the summer.
Arsenal Defender Transfer Exclusive
Bulking up Arsenal’s back line is one of the priorities beyond this season, with the club eager to add more depth to help challenge on all fronts.
Arsenal are currently top of the Premier League and into the quarter-finals of the Champions League, but there is a drive from all within the club to keep improving the squad.
An opportunity lies ahead to take advantage of instability at rival clubs, particularly Liverpool as they plan for life after Jurgen Klopp.
As such, Mikel Arteta is set to be handed a new contract this year and also a transfer kitty that allows him to add elite quality to the ranks.
Sources are currently indicating that there would be an expectation for a defender to be one of the main areas of recruitment, and that an early estimation would be for them to spend at least £50million in that area.
The Gunners are currently linked with both Frankfurt’s Willian Pacho – who has a £51million release clause – and Sporting Lisbon’s Ousmane Diomande – who has a higher trigger fee of £68million.
But other names on Arsenal’s list of names being considered ahead of summer include £50m-rated Murillo from Nottingham Forest and Crystal Palace’s Marc Guehi.
A valuation of Guehi is difficult to judge at this stage but he is being primed as a target while he recovers from surgery on a knee problem.
He is aiming to be back before the end of the season and will hope to be included in England’s Euro 2024 squad if so. Such moments would have an impact on his transfer valuation but £50-60million is the expectation.
Goncalo Inacio of Sporting has been linked too, but Liverpool like him and could meet his £51m release clause. Matthijs De Ligt has been touted as a target for the Gunners but there does not seem to be much of an advance on that situation.
The Gunners do have an eye on younger, emerging defenders too – such as Ajax’s Jarrel Hato.
Arsenal are back in action on Sunday when they travel to Manchester City for one of the biggest matches of the season, as the outcome will help determine the Premier League title race.
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