Arsenal Lead Man Utd In Race For Defender As Wenger Prepres To Meet £19m Clause

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 lead Man Utd in the race for Ricardo Rodriguez….

Arsenal are leading Manchester United in the race to sign Wolfsburg full-back Ricardo Rodriguez this summer with the Gunners ready to trigger his £19m release clause, according to the Express.

Rodriguez has just come off the back of another fine season in Germany as the left-back was a rare positive in what was a disappointing campaign for Wolfsburg as they finished 8th in the Bundesliga table.

The Switzerland international has attracted interest from throughout Europe with the Express claiming that Arsenal and Manchester United are keen on luring him to the Premier League while Real Madrid are also understood to be showing an interest.

Arsene Wenger has already raided the Bundesliga this summer to sign Granit Xhaka from Borussia Monchengladbach but it appears the Gunners boss is ready to head back to Germany as he looks for a potential replacement for Kieran Gibbs – who’s expected to leave the Emirates after losing his place to Nacho Monreal.

New United manager Jose Mourinho is also likely to be active in the transfer market this summer rebuilding the squad Louis van Gaal left behind and a new left-back could be on the agenda to support Luke Shaw after the England youngster missed the majority of last season through injury.

Rodriguez would be an excellent signing for either club, however, the Express suggest that it’s Arsenal who are leading the race for his signature with Wenger understood to be ready to trigger Rodriguez’s £19m release clause.

The newspaper says that Arsenal’s youth director Andreas Jonker has recommended Rodriguez to Wenger as he knows the player well from their time together at Wolfsburg and it looks as though the North Londoners are ready to make their interest official.

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It remains to be seen whether United will step-up their own interest and look to hijack Arsenal’s attempts to land Rodriguez but the Swiss star would be a superb addition if the Gunners could pull it off.

The 23-year-old would provide solid competition for Monreal at left-back next season and would be the ideal long-term replacement for the 30-year-old – who could head back to Spain next summer to see-out the remaining years of his career in his homeland.