Wenger Eyes Move For £19m-Rated Liverpool & Chelsea Target

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 join the chase for Kyriakos ­Papadopoulos.

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has switched his attention to Liverpool and Chelsea target Kyriakos ­Papadopoulos after cooling his interest in Swansea City defender Ashley Williams, according to the Mirror.

The 21-year-old has become one of the Bundesliga’s most highly-rated defenders since breaking into the Schalke first team following his move from Olympicos in 2010, and his form appears to have caught the eye of several top clubs throughout Europe.

The Mirror claim that the Gunners have now joined the likes of Chelsea and Liverpool in showing an interest in bringing the centre-back to the Premier League this summer after struggling to strike a deal for Welsh captain Williams – who’s been valued at around £10m by the Swans.

Arsenal have been heavily linked with a move for Williams but it seems Wenger isn’t prepared to splash out on a player who’s approaching his 29th birthday and may now turn his attention to the younger Papadopoulos. The report claims the Greek international has a buy-out clause in his contract worth £19m but the German outfit may be prepared to do business at nearer £13m this summer.

Arsenal could be on the look-out for another centre-back after Sebastian Squillaci was released and Johan Djourou is expected to leave this summer, Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers is also keen to strengthen his defensive options following the retirement of Jamie Carragher while Chelsea may need to find a long-term replacement for John Terry, and the trio could do a lot worse than look to Papadopoulos.

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