Arsenal
Arsenal table £40m bid after agent holds talks with Edu at London Colney
Arsenal are looking to seal a deal for Ben White swiftly despite seeing their opening £40m bid rejected by Brighton
Arsenal submitted an opening £40m offer for Ben White after Edu held talks with the Brighton defender’s agent at London Colney, according to Goal.
Mikel Arteta has made signing a new centre-back a top priority this summer as he looks to replace David Luiz – who’s available on a free transfer after running down his contract at the Emirates Stadium.
Arteta is seemingly unconvinced by William Saliba – who’s spent the last two seasons out on loan – so he’s in the market for a right-sided centre-back to partner Gabriel next season and White has emerged as a prime target for the Gunners boss.
It looks like Arsenal have now formalised their interest as Goal claims a £40m opening bid has been put on the table after Arsenal’s technical director, Edu, held talks with White’s agent at London Colney.
The report says White is keen to join Arsenal and the Gunners are confident a deal will be done despite Brighton rejecting their initial offer with the South Coast club reportedly holding out for closer to £50m.
Goal says negotiations are continuing between the two clubs and Arsenal are expected to submit a fresh offer soon as they want a deal wrapped up swiftly and haven’t been put off by their opening offer being rejected.
Liverpool and Manchester United have also been linked with White this summer so it makes sense that Arsenal are trying to get a deal agreed before their rivals step-up their interest in the centre-back.
The 23-year-old’s stock has risen ever since being named in Gareth Southgate’s England squad for Euro 2020 following an excellent season that saw him establish himself as a key player for Brighton.
We’ll have to wait and see what Arsenal’s second offer is and if it’ll be enough to get a deal agreed with the Seagulls but White would be an excellent addition to Arteta’s squad if the Gunners can get this proposed transfer over the line.
However, Arteta needs to strengthen his squad in several other areas so Arsenal chiefs won’t want to use too much of their transfer kitty on White. It’s certainly going to be an interesting summer in north London as the Gunners look to build a competitive team having finished eighth in each of the last two seasons.
