Arsenal
Arsenal lead Tottenham in race to sign £49m duo after tabling big-money offer
Arsenal lead Tottenham Hotspur in the race to sign Joachim Andersen and Dennis Praet after making a big-money bid to sign the Sampdoria duo this summer
Managers are working hard trying to strengthen their squads during the summer transfer window so we’ll bring you all the latest news and gossip from around the globe. Today, Arsenal lead Tottenham for a Serie A duo….
Arsenal lead Tottenham Hotspur in the race to sign Joachim Andersen and Dennis Praet after making a big-money bid to sign the Sampdoria duo this summer, according to TuttoSport.
Andersen has developed into one of the best young centre-backs in Italian football since joining Sampdoria from FC Twente two years ago and he made 34 appearances last season to help the club finish ninth in the Serie A table.
The 23-year-old is known as a ball-playing defender and is tipped to become a full senior international with Denmark having represented his country at every youth level so he’s been attracting interest from throughout Europe.
Praet has also been a key player for Sampdoria since joining from Anderlecht in 2016 as he’s racked up over 100 appearances for the first team while he’s also been capped by the Belgian national team.
The duo are expected to leave the Stadio Luigi Ferraris this summer and TuttoSport claims Arsenal and Tottenham have expressed their interest in taking them to the Premier League while AC Milan and Atletico Madrid are also in the race for their signatures.
Mauricio Pochettino is in the market for a centre-back to replace Toby Alderweireld as he’s expected to move-on this summer and Andersen is seemingly on the Tottenham bosses radar while Praet could be viewed as a replacement for Christian Eriksen after he went public with his desire to seek a new challenge.
However, TuttoSport suggest Arsenal are currently pushing the hardest to sign the pair after making a double bid worth around £42m [€47m] as Unai Emery looks to strengthen his squad over the coming weeks.
The Gunners boss needs to tighten up at the back after Arsenal conceded 51 goals last season and it appears Andersen is being lined-up as a new recruit amid speculation surrounding the futures of Laurent Koscielny and Shkodran Mustafi.
Arsenal also need to sign a new box-to-box midfielder after losing Aaron Ramsey to Juventus on a free transfer so Praet is seemingly the man Emery wants to fill the Welsh international’s boots at the Emirates.
READ MORE –> Arsenal transfer news | Spurs transfer news
However, the Gunners will have to dig a little deeper as TuttoSport claim Sampdoria want between £44.5m [€50m] and £53.5m [€60m] for their star duo, so it could take an offer of around £49m to get a deal agreed.
