Arsenal Set To Open Talks Over £18m Deal For Want-Away Liverpool Target

With the summer transfer window finally open for business, managers are working hard trying to strengthen their squads ahead of next season so we’ll bring you all the news and gossip. Today, Arsenal are linked with Jose Callejon….

Arsenal are set to open talks with Napoli over a potential £18m deal to sign want-away Liverpool target Jose Callejon this summer, according to the Express.

Callejon came through the Real Madrid youth ranks and after spending a three-year spell at Espanyol between 2008-2011, he returned to the Bernabeu where he scored 20 goals during 77 appearances before being sold to Napoli in 2013.

The Spanish international has enjoyed the past two years in Italy having scored 32 goals in 102 games but his future has been cast in doubt following Rafa Benitez’s exit and it appears he could now be given the chance of a fresh start in England.

The Express are citing reports coming from Italian outlet Mediaset who claim that Callejon is keen to leave Naples and Arsenal and Liverpool are apparently showing a keen interest in luring him to the Premier League this summer.

However, it looks as thought the Gunners are ready to steal a march on their rivals as the newspaper suggests that Arsene Wenger is ready to open talks over a potential £18m deal for the 28-year-old attacker.

It remains to be seen how Napoli will respond to Arsenal’s interest but Callejon would be a useful addition if the North Londoners are successful in taking him to the Emirates.

He’s predominantly played as a right-sided attacker but is capable of playing anywhere across the front three positions, including as a central striker, so he’d give Wenger plenty of options in attack.

The reported fee of £18m also seems great value in today’s over-inflated market but I wouldn’t rule Liverpool out of the running just yet as I expect Brendan Rodgers to be in the market for another versatile attacker once Raheem Sterling completes his proposed move to Man City [via the BBC].

Sterling’s impending departure would leave a hole in the Merseysiders front-line and a player like Callejon could be seen as the man to fill it, and Rodgers may be able to tempt the Spaniard to Anfield with the promise of more regular first team football compared to what he might expect to get at Arsenal.

READ MORE –> Arsenal transfer news | Liverpool transfer news

We’ll have to wait and see how things develop over the coming days but I think Callejon would be a decent signing for either Arsenal or Liverpool if they could persuade Napoli to cash-in this summer.