Arsenal prepared to pay £100m for Christopher Nkunku

Arsenal are prepared to pay £100m to beat Manchester United to the signing of RB Leipzig attacker Christopher Nkunku this summer, according to the Independent via the Mirror.

Nkunku came through the youth ranks at Paris Saint-Germain and has developed into one of the best young forwards in European football since joining Leipzig in the summer of 2019.

The 24-year-old has just come off the back of a sensational campaign that saw him score 35 goals and provide a further 19 assists across 50 games in all competitions, making him one of the most productive attackers in Europe’s top leagues.

After posting such impressive numbers last season, it’s no surprise that Nkunku is attracting interest this summer with the Independent claiming that Arsenal, Manchester United, Liverpool and PSG are among the clubs keeping an eye on his situation.

Leipzig are desperate to keep hold of the French international and the newspaper says the Bundesliga outfit have now slapped a £100m price-tag on Nkunku’s head to try and warn off potential suitors.

United are expected to be active in the market over the coming months as Erik ten Hag overhauls the squad he inherited from Ralf Rangnick and attack is an area that needs strengthened after Edinson Cavani left on a free transfer.

However, the Independent suggests that Manchester United are not prepared to meet Leipzig’s asking price for Nkunku as they cannot splash the vast majority of their £120m budget on just one player.

Liverpool are expected to end any interest in the Frenchman having sealed a deal for Darwin Nunez, which could leave Arsenal well-placed to sign Nkunku if he wants to test himself in the Premier League.

And the Independent claims that Arsenal are prepared to meet Leipzig’s £100m valuation for the young attacker, despite missing out on signing him for closer to £10m when he left PSG three years ago.

Former boss Unai Emery was desperate to take Nkunku to the Emirates having worked with him during his time at PSG, but the player ended up joining Leipzig after Arsenal chiefs refused to sign-off a move.

It looks like that was a costly mistake and while the Independent suggests that the North Londoners are now prepared to splash a club-record fee to finally land Nkunku, they would face competition from PSG.

Not only that, but the source says that Leipzig are growing increasingly confident of persuading Nkunku to stay in Germany for another season and sign a new contract that would include a hefty release clause.

Therefore, it appears Arsenal could be frustrated once again in their attempts to sign Nkunku leaving Mikel Arteta searching for alternative targets in his hunt for a new forward this summer.