Arsenal are eyeing a move to sign Amadou Diawara and Roma are prepared to cash-in on the defensive midfielder if £27m is put on the table this summer, according to the Express.
Mikel Arteta is working hard trying to overhaul the squad he inherited from Unai Emery and the Gunners boss has already snapped up Brazilian winger Willian on a free transfer following his exit from Chelsea.
The Spaniard is set to strengthen his defence too as the Express are one of several media outlets reporting that Gabriel Magalhaes is on the verge of joining Arsenal in a £27m deal from Lille after agreeing a five-year contract worth £80,000-a-week.
However, Arsenal also need to improve in the middle of the park and the newspaper claims that Arteta has now identified Diawara as a key target after watching the defensive midfielder impress at Roma last season.
The 23-year-old only moved to the Stadio Olimpico from Napoli last summer and featured 31 times to help Roma finish fifth in the Serie A table but it looks like he could already be set for another move.
Arsenal are seemingly in the hunt for his signature and the Express claims Roma are ready to do business if a £27m bid is put on the table as they look to raise money to fund their own summer transfer business.
The Italians are hoping to make a number of new additions this summer and the report says Roma will cash-in on Diawara in order to fund moves for the likes of Sokratis, Jorginho and Chris Smalling.
Arsenal could certainly do with a new defensive midfielder as we’ve badly lacked a player who can protect the defence in recent years so you can understand why Arteta is eyeing a move for Diawara this summer.
Matteo Guendouzi is expected to leave after falling out of favour while Lucas Torreira is being linked with a move back to Italy after struggling to nail down a regular starting spot so Arsenal will need to sign at least one defensive midfielder.
A potential £27m deal would also fit with Arsenal’s budget after we were priced out of a move for Thomas Partey so Arteta could be about to splash £54m on two new signings if he completes deals for Diawara and Gabriel.
However, the Gunners boss will still need to offload players to help balance the books and the Express says that along with Guendouzi and Torreira, Ainsley Maitland-Niles, Rob Holding and Calum Chambers are also available for transfer.
