Arsenal Transfer News: Gunners Linked With £35m Ace But Suffer Midfielder Blow

With the winter transfer window closed, manager’s are now looking ahead towards the summer and planning deals for next season. Today, Arsenal are once again linked with William Carvalho but suffer a blow in their pursuit of Granit Xhaka….

Carvalho to cost £35m

First up and the Mirror are reporting that Arsenal are eyeing a move for William Carvalho this summer but the midfielder will now cost around £35m after signing a new deal with Sporting Lisbon.

Carvalho has been strongly linked with a move to the Emirates over the past two years and the Portuguese international was recently touted as a target for Arsene Wenger during the January transfer window.

The Mirror suggest the Gunners boss was ready to renew his interest in Carvalho this summer as he looks to bring in a long-term successor to Mikel Arteta – who’s set to leave when his contract expires in June.

However, any potential deal for the 23-year-old is now going to cost us as Carvalho has signed a new four-year deal with Sporting Lisbon that saw his buy-out clause increase to around £35m [€45m].

A statement on Sporting’s website said:

“Under the terms and for the purposes of compliance with the reporting requirements stemming from Article 248 , paragraph 1 al. a) of the Securities Code, the Board of Directors of Sporting Clube de Portugal – Futebol, SAD announces that the athlete William Carvalho Silva extended his contract with Sporting Clube de Portugal – Futebol SAD until the season 2019/2020, settling the termination clause in €45,000,000.00 (forty- five million euros).”

Carvalho has emerged as one of the most promising young midfielders in European football and his powerful physique means he should be well-suited to the rough and tumble of the Premier League if he was to come to these shores.

However, despite the fact I think he’d be a decent signing for Arsenal, I personally don’t see Wenger paying the £35m needed to meet his new buy-out clause, so I think we’ll decide to focus our attention on other targets this summer.

Xhaka eyes Man City

Another such target is Granit Xhaka but it looks as though we’ve been dealt a blow in our pursuit of the Borussia Monchengladbach midfielder after he fluttered his eye lashes at Manchester City.

The 23-year-old has also been linked with a move to North London recently and the Mirror claim Wenger was plotting a move for the Swiss international this summer after being impressed by his performances in the Gladbach midfield this season.

However, it looks as though Xhaka is keen to link up with Pep Guardiola at the Etihad next season after telling reporters that he wouldn’t be able to say no if the Citizens come calling.

“Logically, it is hard to say no when Manchester City wants you and you can play there,” Xhaka is quoted as saying by the Mirror

“I will openly admit that, and that surely does not only apply to me.”

Now that Guardiola has been confirmed as the City manager for next season, I think it’s fair to say that Xhaka won’t be the last player who issues a come-and-get-me-plea to the Manchester club over the coming months.

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I suppose it’s something we’ll have to put up with but it is going to be interesting to see who we end up buying in midfield as with Arteta, Flamini and Rosicky all set to leave in June, we certainly need another central midfielder this summer.