Arsenal eyeing swoop to sign 26y/o South American star, club ready to do business

Managers are working hard trying to strengthen their squads during the summer transfer window so we’ll bring you all the latest news and gossip from around the globe. Today, Arsenal are linked with Eder Balanta…

Arsenal are eyeing a cut-price swoop to sign Eder Balanta with FC Basel ready to cash-in on the centre-back if £4m is put on the table this summer, according to the Mirror.

Unai Emery is planning to overhaul his squad over the coming months after we finished fifth in the Premier League table and were thrashed 4-1 by Chelsea in the Europa League final last week.

However, failure to qualify for the Champions League means the Gunners boss will only have around £45m to spend, according to the Mirror, and Emery has hinted he’ll now have to focus on cheaper targets this summer.

A new centre-back is on the agenda after Arsenal conceded 51 goals in the league this season and Shkodran Mustafi is being linked with a move to Italy while Laurent Koscielny – who turns 34 in September- could leave as he has just 12 months left on his contract.

We’ve been linked with a number of defenders in recent weeks but the Mirror claim Arsenal are now plotting a cut-price move to sign Colombian international Eder Balanta from FC Basel.

The 26-year-old joined the Swiss giants from River Plate in 2016 and has just come off the back of a fine season that saw him make 31 appearances so help Basel finish second in the Swiss Super League table.

However, his future is in serious doubt as Balanta has just one year remaining on his contract and the Mirror claims Basel have offered Arsenal the chance to sign the defender for just £4m as they don’t want to risk losing him for nothing.

That kind of money makes Balanta an attractive proposition for Arsenal given our tight budget this summer and the South American centre-back can also play at left-back if needed so his versatility will be seen as a valuable asset.

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We’ll have to wait and see how things develop but Arsenal fans need to accept that we’re going to be shopping in the lower end of the market this summer after failing to qualify for the Champions League so Balanta could be a shrewd piece of business.