Arsenal make ‘proposal’ to sign £13.5m-rated star, deal could be done next week

The January transfer window is open and managers are working hard on strengthening their squads and identifying targets for the summer so we’ll keep you up-to-date with the latest rumours. Today, the latest on Denis Suarez…

Arsenal have put forward a proposal to sign Barcelona midfielder Denis Suarez but face competition from Chelsea for his signature, according to reports from Spain.

Suarez was part of the youth set-up at Manchester City but failed to make the breakthrough in to the first team during his four-year spell at the club before joining Barcelona in the summer of 2013.

The Spaniard spent two years in the Barca B team before joining Villarreal but the midfielder re-joined the Catalans just 12 months later after they activated a buy-back clause and he’s gone on to make 69 appearances for the first team.

However, Suarez has struggled to make an impression under Ernesto Valverde this season having played just 8 minutes of La Liga football so far and the 24-year-old has admitted he may need to leave in order to secure regular first team football.

His situation has alerted clubs here in the Premier League as Marca reported last month that Arsenal and Chelsea have expressed their interest and are in pole position to sign Suarez during the January transfer window.

The Spanish newspaper said Barcelona had made it clear to the player he wasn’t going to be a regular and they are willing to cash-in this month. Suarez has a release clause worth around £45m but with just 18 months left on his deal, Marca says Barca will sell if an offer worth in the region of £13.5m was put on the table.

The newspaper claimed Arsenal and Chelsea held talks with Suarez’s representatives in December and the midfielder is keen to return to England to test himself in the Premier League after failing to get his chance at City.

It seems we’ve stepped-up our pursuit now that the transfer window is open as Spanish radio station RAC1 have claimed Arsenal have put forward a proposal to sign Suarez this month.

Unai Emery is keen to strengthen his squad and Suarez could be viewed as a cheap replacement for Aaron Ramsey with the Welshman expected to complete a free transfer move to Juventus at the end of the season.

However, Arsenal will face stiff competition as RAC1 claims Chelsea have also made an offer for Suarez and the player will make a final decision over his future at some point next week. He’ll either join one of the London clubs or stay with Barca until the end of the season.

The claim was reported via their Twitter account, with the Spanish tweet roughly translated to say “Denis Suarez will decide his future next week. Proposals made by Arsenal and Chelsea. He’ll join one of these two or remain with the club until June.”

‼ NOTÍCIA @EsportsRAC1

Denis Suárez decidirà el seu futur la setmana vinent. Propostes de Chelsea i Arsenal per sortir. O una d’aquestes dues, o seguirà al club fins al mes de juny. #frac1 pic.twitter.com/WOGYZJEBLZ

— El Barça juga a RAC1 (@FCBRAC1) January 4, 2019

We’ll have to wait and see what Suarez decides to do next week but he would be an exciting addition to the squad if we could beat Chelsea to his signature. Emery is clearly working on a tight budget and Suarez would be a shrewd piece of business if we could snap him up for under £15m.