Arsenal
Barcelona Make Formal Enquiry Over £20m-Rated Arsenal Ace
Reports are claiming that Spanish giants Barcelona have made an enquiry for Arsenal defender Laurent Koscielny, who’s rated at around £20m by the London club.
With the summer transfer window set to open, there is plenty of gossip doing the rounds in the newspapers so we’ll keep you up-to-date with the latest transfer rumours. Today, Barcelona have made an approach for Arsenal defender Laurent Koscielny.
Look away now Arsenal fans because reports are claiming that Spanish giants Barcelona have made an enquiry for defender Laurent Koscielny.
After a difficult start to life in north London following his move from Lorient in 2010, that included a catastrophic error in the final of the 2011 Carling Cup Final, Koscielny has established himself as an important member of Arsene Wenge’rs starting eleven and forged an impressive partnership alongside Per Mertesacker during the second half of last season.
It seems that form has alerted some of Europe’s super-powers with the Sun newspaper reporting that Barcelona have joined Bayern Munich in showing an interest in the £20m-rated Frenchman and the La Liga champions are believed to have made contact with the club to make a formal enquiry over his availability.
The bad news is that the 27-year-old has recently been quoted as saying he will consider leaving the Emirates in search of silverware:
‘I want to win a championship, I don’t want to be fighting like we have this season because it was very tiring psychologically.
‘I feel good at Arsenal, if we have ambition to fight against the other teams of course I want to stay here.
‘We are always under pressure, a season without the Champions League for Arsenal is catastrophic.
‘I have the desire to add to my list of honours. I hope the club will give me the means. If this weren’t the case, I’d look elsewhere.’ Koscielny is quoted as saying by the Metro.
The good news is that Koscielny signed a new five-year deal last summer so we hold all the cards. We can force him to stay if we want or we can demand a sizable fee if he forces a move. My personal opinion is he will stay at least another year but it could be tricky to keep his head straight if the likes of Barca and Bayern make a real push for his signature this summer.
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What do you think Gooners? Will Kos stay this summer or will he have his head turned? Get involved in the comments section below.
