Arsenal
Arsenal Given Green Light To Sign Liverpool Target In £24.5m Deal
Arsenal have been told they can sign Liverpool target Bernd Leno as long as they meet the goalkeepers £24.5m release clause this summer
The summer transfer window is now open and managers are working hard on their transfer targets so we’ll bring you all the latest gossip from around the globe. Today, the latest on Bernd Leno…
Arsenal have been told they can sign Liverpool target Bernd Leno as long as they meet the goalkeepers £24.5m release clause this summer, according to the Daily Star.
Leno has been one of the most consistent goalkeepers in the Bundesliga since joining Bayer Leverkusen from Stuttgart in 2011 and he’s racked up over 300 first team appearances for the club.
The 26-year-old kept 10 clean sheets in his 33 league games last season to help secure a fifth place finish but he surprisingly missed out on a place in Joachim Low’s squad for this summers World Cup finals.
Leno’s impressive form has caught the attention of clubs here in the Premier League with the Daily Star claiming that Arsenal and Liverpool have both expressed their interest in recent months.
Jurgen Klopp is in the market for a new number one after Loris Karius made two costly errors during the Champions League final defeat to Real Madrid and Leno is one of several names being considered.
However, the Liverpool boss is reportedly focussing his attention on signing Roma’s Alisson Becker and that has left Arsenal in pole position to sign Leno if he opts for a move to England.
Leverkusen expect the German international to leave this summer and have already signed Lukas Hradecky as his replacement but they’ve made it clear they’ll only sell Leno if a club meets his release clause – which the Daily Star says is set at £24.5m.
Leverkusen’s sporting director Rudi Voller is quoted by the newspaper as saying:
“Leno can leave but only on our terms. We are still in constant and open exchange with Bernd and his manager. Leno already had a concrete offer from Napoli in 2017, but we didn’t have an equivalent backup at the time.
“He had to stay and he did really well last season, but we thought Bernd’s desire to leave would resurface. And so with the arrival of Lukas Hradecky we have a high quality successor.”
I don’t see Liverpool formalising their interest in Leno until they’ve done all they can to sign Alisson so the door is open for Arsenal to swoop in and sign the German star if they’re prepared to meet his exit fee.
READ MORE –> Arsenal transfer news | Liverpool transfer news
Unai Emery needs to sign a long-term replacement for Petr Cech as he’s 36 and his form dropped dramatically last season so Leno would be a significant upgrade on the Czech legend if Arsenal were to secure his signature.
