Arsenal join Man Utd in race to land £54m star as Emery eyes 2nd summer signing

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. Here, Arsenal join the race for Ruben Dias…

Arsenal have joined Manchester United in the race to sign Benfica’s £54m-rated centre-back Ruben Dias this summer, according to reports via the Mirror.

Dias is a product of the Benfica youth system and he’s developed into one of the best young defenders in European football since breaking into the first team set-up two years ago while he’s also become an established Portuguese international.

The 22-year-old’s potential has attracted interest from Man Utd with The Sun carrying a report on Friday claiming Ole Gunnar Solskjaer had stepped-up his pursuit of Dias after struggling to agree terms for Harry Maguire.

United desperately need to strengthen their defence after conceding 54 Premier League goals last season and Dias has seemingly been identified as a cheaper alternative to Maguire with Leicester demanding a world record fee for their defender.

However, it looks like Manchester United may face stiff competition from one of their domestic rivals as the Mirror are citing a report from the Daily Mail that claims Arsenal have now joined the chase to sign Dias this summer.

Unai Emery is also working hard trying to strengthen his squad ahead of the new season but so far the Spanish coach has only managed to bring in youngster Gabriel Martinelli from Brazilian outfit Ituano.

Defence has been an area of concern for the north Londoners for many years and their fragile back-line ultimately cost them a top four place in the Premier League last season so they desperately need to tighten things up this summer.

The report says Emery has now identified Dias as a potential long-term replacement for Laurent Koscielny after he threw his future in doubt by refusing to go on the clubs pre-season tour as he tries to force a move back to France.

Emery only has a limited budget available this summer so with Dias’s release clause set at £54m the Daily Mail says Arsenal will try to negotiate a lower fee with Benfica that would also involve them paying in installments.

READ–> Arsenal transfer news | Man Utd transfer news

It remains to be seen whether Benfica would be prepared to accept such a deal as Portuguese clubs are known for demanding the full value of release clauses, so this could put United in pole position ahead of Arsenal to sign Dias this summer.