Liverpool Confident Of Beating Arsenal To £8m Signing After Player Opts For Anfield

The opening of the summer transfer window is fast approaching so we’ll bring you all the latest transfer rumours and gossip from around the globe. Today, Arsenal and Liverpool are linked with Ben Chilwell…

Liverpool are confident of beating Arsenal to the signing of Leicester City’s Ben Chilwell after the defender made it clear Anfield was his preferred destination this summer, according to Goal.

Chilwell is a product of the Leicester youth academy and has developed in to one of the most promising young full-backs in British football since breaking in to the first team squad in August and impressed during a short-term loan at Huddesfield earlier in the season.

However, the 19-year-old has struggled to hold down a regular starting spot in Claudio Ranieri’s team since his return from loan with the Italian understandably sticking the virtually the same eleven every week as the Foxes stormed to a sensational Premier League title.

Chilwell is therefore reluctant to commit his future to the King Power Stadium and has been stalling on signing a new contract extension, which has alerted a number of other Premier League clubs.

Goal claim that Arsenal have held a long-standing interest in the young full-back and even saw an opening £3.5m offer rejected by Leicester during last summers transfer window.

Arsene Wenger has continued to monitor the 19-year-old this campaign and with doubts over the long-term future of Kieran Gibbs, it appears the Arsenal boss has earmarked Chillwell as a potential replacement.

However, it looks as though the Gunners could be set to miss out as Goal claim that Liverpool are now considered as the front-runners after Chilwell made it known that Anfield is his preferred destination.

The report suggests that the youngster is keen to link-up with Jurgen Klopp and Liverpool are now confident of fending off Arsenal’s interest to secure a deal worth in the region of £8m including add ons.

Klopp is set to continue his rebuilding project this summer and a new left-back is likely to be on his agenda with Jose Enrique expected to leave after falling out-of-favour this season, and it looks like Chilwell could be his replacement.

READ MORE –> Arsenal transfer news | Liverpool transfer news

We’ll have to wait and see how this plays out over the coming weeks but Chilwell is an exciting prospect so he’d be an excellent addition at either Liverpool or Arsenal.

The teenager is a specialist left-back whose already represented England at Under-20 level and was invited to train with the senior squad back in March, so he certainly looks like he has a bright future ahead of him.