Arsenal & Man Utd eyeing January swoop to sign 28-year-old Belgian star

Arsenal and Manchester United are showing a keen interest in signing Watford centre-back Christian Kabasele this month, according to reports via the Daily Mail.

New Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta needs to strengthen his squad following a disastrous first half to the campaign and defence is an area of concern after losing Calum Chambers for up to nine months with a knee ligament injury.

United are also expected to add to their ranks this winter as Ole Gunner Solskjaer tries to mount a serious challenge for a top four finish and the Norwegian could be on the look out for competition for Harry Maguire and Victor Lindelof in the middle of his back four.

The Daily Mail are citing a report from French outlet Le10 Sport that claims both Arsenal and Manchester United are interested in signing Kabasele despite the defender being tipped to sign a new contract at Vicarage Road that will tie him to the club until 2024.

Kabasele has been a regular for Watford this season with 16 appearances to his name so far and he’s impressed at the heart of defence during their mini-revival since Nigel Pearson took over last month.

The 28-year-old joined the Hornets from Genk in a £6m deal in 2016 and has racked up almost 100 appearances in all competitions while he’s also been capped twice by Belgium at international level.

Kabasele stands at 6ft 2in tall and is a powerful centre-back who has experience in the Premier League so he would be a solid addition to the Arsenal or Man Utd squad if either club was able to get a deal agreed.

However, no doubt Watford will do all they can to hang on to the centre-back as they need to keep hold of their best players to help in their battle to avoid the drop so it may take a sizeable offer to convince them to cash-in on Kabasele this winter.