Arsenal & Chelsea Agree To Pay Stars £19.6m Price Tag As Agent Confirms Interest

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 Chelsea are linked with Sofiane Boufal….

Arsenal and Chelsea are showing a keen interest in signing Lille’s £19.6m-rated attacker Sofiane Boufal this summer but face stiff competition from the likes of Barcelona, according to the Guardian.

Boufal has just come off the back of an excellent season for Lille having scored 11 goals in his 29  league games in what was his first full season with the club after joining from Angers in a £3m deal in January 2015.

The 22-year-old has been attracting interest from the Premier League with the Guardian claiming that Arsenal and Chelsea are both in the running for his signature after keeping a close eye on his progress last season.

The newspaper says that Lille have already acknowledged that Boufal will leave the club over the coming weeks but the Ligue 1 outfit are demanding a fee in the region of £19.6m (€25m) for the talented attacker this summer.

The Guardian suggest that Arsenal and Chelsea have made it clear they are willing to meet that asking price but the London duo will face stiff competition as Boufal’s agent, Yvan Le Mee, has confirmed he’s held talks with Barcelona over a move to the Nou Camp.

Le Mee also confirmed interest from England and while he didn’t name any specific clubs, he did hint that Chelsea are among those interested. Le Mee is quoted as saying by the Guardian:

“We did have a meeting with the leadership of FC Barcelona in the last few weeks. There is an interest,”

“Now the reflection is whether Sofiane Boufal will go to Barcelona to compete with MSN (Lionel Messi, Luis Suárez and Neymar) or should he go to a club where he is going to start matches and express his exceptional talent.

“We have also initiated discussions with three other clubs that interest us, but they either have or will change their coach or the coach is in charge of a national team at the Euros. In England, there is interest, but the English market is just beginning. A transfer of 20 and 25 million euros is not resolved in two weeks, of course.”

The Moroccan international is predominantly played as a No.10 but he’s also capable of playing out on the wings so he’d give Arsene Wenger or Antonio Conte plenty of options in attack.

Wenger has already splashed out on midfielder Granit Xhaka but with Theo Walcott’s future in doubt, the Gunners boss is on the look out for attacking reinforcements and it appears Boufal is on the Frenchman’s radar.

Incoming Chelsea boss Conte is gearing up for a busy summer once he officially takes over after Euro 2016 with the Italian coach expected to revamp his attack and Boufal would certainly bring a new creative edge at Stamford Bridge.

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We’ll have to wait and see whether Arsenal or Chelsea are able to fend off the interest from Barcelona but Boufal would be an exciting addition if either club were able to win the race for his signature.