Defender Set For €20m Man Utd Move, But He ‘Dreams’ Of Joining Arsenal

With the January transfer window in full swing, managers are strengthening their squads ahead of the second half of the season, so we’ll bring you all the latest news and gossip. Today, Aleksandar Dragovic is closing in on a move to Manchester United….

Manchester United are closing in on a €20m (£15m) deal to sign Dinamo Kiev defender Aleksandar Dragovic despite the player saying he dreams of playing for Arsenal, according to reports.

Dragovic has been superb at the back since joining Kiev from FC Basel in 2013 and his excellent form has attracted interest from a number of top European clubs including the likes of Juventus, Zenit St Petersburg and Roma.

Arsenal and Manchester United have also been strongly linked with the Austrian international in recent months with both Arsene Wenger and Louis van Gaal on the look-out for defensive reinforcements.

The Gunners would surely have been considered as the front-runners for his signature had they pushed ahead with a move as Dragovic has previously admitted he’s a boyhood Arsenal fan and revealed he’s always dream’t of playing for the North Londoners.

During an interview with Austrian outlet Sportnet.at last month, it was put to Dragovic that Arsenal were interested in him and he was asked if he would be fulfilling a childhood dream if he joined the club, to which he replied:

Of course, you can hear a lot of rumours, but I still have three and a half year contract with Dynamo Kiev. If something is on the table, I’ll look at it myself. I can not influence anything. But yes, Arsenal is a childhood dream.

However, despite the 23-year-old fondness for the North Londoners, it appears his chances of sealing a move to Arsenal have been scuppered as Wenger has decided to sign Villarreal’s Gabriel Paulista instead – with a deal for the Brazilian imminent.

Arsenal’s snub has paved the way for Man Utd and the Metro claim that Dragovic is now on ‘the verge’ of making a €20m (£15m) move to Old Trafford with the 20-time champions understood to have been in deep negotiations with Kiev this past week.

It remains to be seen how much truth there is in this report but Dragovic would certainly be an interesting signing for United. The 23-year-old is fast and powerfully build, so he should have no problem adapting to the Premier League if he does end up coming to these shores.

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With the likes of Jonny Evans, Marcos Rojo, Phil Jones and Chris Smalling all spending time on the sidelines through injury this season, van Gaal could certainly do with a top class central defender to build his new-look team around and Dragovic would be a more cost-effective solution than some of the other defenders United have been linked with.