Premier League runners-up Arsenal travel to Asia later this month for a pre-season tour.
The Gunners will face Italian side AC Milan and Premier League rivals Newcastle United in Singapore, before travelling for a match against North London rivals Tottenham Hotspur in Hong Kong.
Mikel Arteta has seen his side finish second in the top flight in each of the past three league campaigns, and the Spaniard will hope to go one better next term.
With that in mind, it appears that the London side are accelerating plans to land one of La Liga’s biggest stars.
According to TBR Football, Arsenal are interested in Real Madrid winger Rodrygo and are prepared to make him one of their highest earners.
Rodrygo, 24, joined Real from Brazilian side Santos in 2019 and has since made more than 260 appearances for the Spanish giants across all competitions, scoring 68 goals and providing 51 assists.
Rodrygo is a target for Arsenal (SPP Sport Press Photo/Alamy)
He featured 52 times under Carlo Ancelotti last season, but new manager Xabi Alonso is said to be a big fan of Arda Guler and that could hinder Rodrygo’s playing time next term.
With that in mind, the player himself is considering a move away from the Spanish capital, the report suggests.
It is claimed that the North London side could be open to making the Brazilian one of their highest earners, despite the club preparing new deals for William Saliba and Bukayo Saka that could be worth in excess of £300,000-per-week.
Sporting director Andrea Berta has been working behind the scenes to assess the likelihood of a deal for Rodrygo, the report claims, and Real are said to be open to the idea of selling the winger.
While the Spanish side value the player at close to £100 million, the report suggests that they would likely accept an offer in the region of £70 million for the player.