Transfer News: Arsenal Eye £10m Midfielder – Liverpool Table £5m Bid For Ghanaian

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, Arsenal are linked with a move for Asier Illarramendi while Liverpool have tabled a bid for Porto attacker Christian Atsu.

Gunners chase Illarramendi

First up and the Daily Mail are reporting that Arsenal are leading the chase for Real Sociedad defensive midfielder Asier Illarramendi and are lining up a bid for the £10m-rated  Spanish Under-21 international.

The 23-year-old has just come off the back of an excellent season in La Liga where he shone in the middle of the park to help guide Sociedad to a respectable fourth-place finish to qualify for the knockout stages of the Champions League.

The Mail claim his impressive form has alerted Arsenal with boss Arsene Wenger understood to be keen on pairing him alongside fellow Spaniard Mikel Arteta next season. However, the report suggests the Gunners may face competition from Real Madrid with the Spanish giants also believed to be keeping track of the player in recent months.

Illarramendi has been capped at every youth level for Spain and played a part in the Under-21’s recent European Championship triumph in Israel, but he’s yet to earn his first cap for the senior national team.

Liverpool move for Atsu

Next up and the Daily Mail are also reporting that Liverpool have made a £5m bid for Porto attacker Christian Atsu. Reds boss Brendan Rodgers has been active in the early part of the summer with the captures of Kolo Toure and Iago Aspas and it seems he’s not stopping there with another acquisition in his sights in Ghanaian forward Atsu.

The 21-year-old – who can play anywhere along the front line or behind the striker – made 25 appearances to help guide Porto to the title last season while he’s also a full international for his nation, representing Ghana at the African Cup of Nations last January.

Will £5m be enough to persuade Porto to sell? That remains to be seen but Liverpool fans can be encouraged by how pro-active the club are being in the transfer market so far this summer.

Read more Arsenal transfer news | Liverpool transfer news

So there’s another dose of transfer news. Would Arsenal fans like to see Illarramendi signed this summer? Do Liverpool fans thin Atsu would be a good buy? Get involved in the comments section below.