Arsenal steal march on Liverpool & Man Utd after holding talks to sign £50m star

Arsenal have stolen a march on Liverpool and Manchester United after holding positive talks over a move to sign £50m Brighton defender Ben White, according to the Daily Mail.

Mikel Arteta is expected to be extremely busy in the transfer market this summer as he looks to overhaul his squad after Arsenal missed out on European qualification having finished eighth in the Premier League last season.

A new centre-back is seen as a priority as Arsenal need to replace David Luiz – who’s available on a free transfer after letting his contract expire at the Emirates – and Arteta doesn’t seem convinced by youngster William Saliba – who spent last season on loan in France.

White has emerged as a prime target for the Gunners with The Athletic reporting recently that Arsenal were plotting a move to sign the highly-rated Brighton & Hove Albion defender this summer.

The Daily Mail suggests that Liverpool and Manchester United are also showing a keen interest in White. Jurgen Klopp is looking to bolster his back-line after deciding not to make Ozan Kabak’s loan permanent while Ole Gunnar Solskjaer wants a top class partner for Harry Maguire.

However, it appears Arsenal have stolen a march on Liverpool and Man Utd as the Daily Mail claims the north Londoners have held ‘positive talks’ over a potential deal to sign White this summer.

The newspaper says the 23-year-old is keen on moving to the Emirates but Arsenal are now assessing how they can sign the centre-back within their budget after Brighton slapped a £50m price tag on his head.

White will also expect a significant increase on his current £35,000-a-week contract so any deal is going to be a major outlay for Arsenal at a time when finances are tight with a lack of European football hampering revenue streams.

Arteta is also needing to strengthen several other areas of his squad this summer so it remains to be seen whether Arsenal can afford to meet Brighton’s £50m valuation and have enough left over to sign other targets.

This could leave the door open for the likes of Liverpool or Man Utd to gazump Arsenal if either club decides to formalise their interest in White, so it’s going to be interesting to see how things develop over the coming weeks.

White is currently away at the Euro’s having been named in Gareth Southgate’s squad so any potential transfer isn’t likely to happen until after England’s participation in the tournament is over.