According to The Athletic, Arsenal have their sights on landing a defender alongside Bruno Guimaraes and Vinicius Junior this summer.
The Gunners have had a quiet summer transfer window. Christos Tzolis and Piero Hincapie (buy clause after loan) remain the only outfield signings thus far.
Arsenal are working on deals for Guimaraes and Vinicius, but The Athletic claim that the club are also focused on landing a new defender after William Saliba’s injury.
Likely deal
The Gunners were expected to spend big in the transfer window after ending their 22-year wait for the Premier League title.
However, there has been little activity. Tzolis remains the only new outfield signing. The Greek is a talented left winger, but Arsenal are determined to bring in a world-class starter ahead of him. Real Madrid’s Vinicius remains the dream target for the English champions.
Meanwhile, the Gunners have been pursuing a deal for Guimaraes for several weeks. They have been locked in negotiations with Newcastle United for the 28-year-old and are currently on the cusp of reaching a ‘total agreement‘ to land the former Lyon midfielder.
Arsenal are still a long way from negotiating a possible deal for Vinicius, but they may simultaneously focus on signing a new centre-back to compensate for Saliba’s absence. The Frenchman is sidelined for the next few months after a back injury playing for France at the World Cup.
The Gunners have Cristhian Mosquera, Jurrien Timber and Ben White who are right-footed options for the right centre-back role, but the former is still relatively inexperienced and manager Mikel Arteta may want someone with better Premier League pedigree.
Timber, on the other hand, is still nursing a groin problem, while White looks poised to start the season at right-back. Hence, Arsenal are likely to enter the transfer market for an experienced centre-back and could prioritise a deal for Aston Villa’s Ezri Konsa.
The Gunners value the England international at £30-35 million which is significantly lower than Villa’s £60 million valuation. Konsa has opened the door for a transfer and Arsenal could seek to find a middle ground over the fee to prise him away from Villa.
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