Arsenal have made Liverpool and Chelsea transfer target Hugo Ekitike one of their top targets for the summer, according to the latest reports in Germany.
The Gunners have already lined up £55m and £9m deals for Real Sociedad’s Martin Zubimendi and Brentford’s Christian Norgaard as they look to bolster Mikel Arteta’s defence.
Kepa Arrizabalaga is joining from Chelsea in a £5m deal as Arsenal give goalkeeper David Raya some competition, while they have reached a ‘full agreement’ on personal terms with Valencia centre-back Cristhian Mosquera.
Transfer expert Fabrizio Romano has explained the situation regarding Mosquera, he said on his YouTube channel: “Arsenal’s opening proposal for Cristhian Mosquera for €14m was rejected. Arsenal will return to the table, they hope to get the deal done for this Spanish defender for something around €20m/€25m.
“Let’s say it will be in excess of €20m to get Mosquera who is out of contract in one year at Valencia, who is not extending his contract and has said yes to contract terms offered by Arsenal.
“So the proposal is on the table from Arsenal, the contract is on the table and Mosquera has already said yes to Arsenal, to Mikel Arteta, to Andrea Berta, to all people at the club because he wants to go to the Premier League and he wants to go to Arsenal.
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“Now club to club they are discussing, they are negotiating — no agreement on €14m/€15m but Arsenal will be back to the table.
“I expect Arsenal to go very strong on this one once again.”
A new centre-forward has always been a top priority this summer for Arsenal with Sporting CP’s Viktor Gyokeres and RB Leipzig’s Benjamin Sesko among the players they have been looking to bring in.
But Arteta and new sporting director Andrea Berta appear to be dragging their feet over a potential move for Gyokeres or Sesko with huge fees demanded by their clubs.
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And now German newspaper Bild has claimed that ‘suddenly’ the Gunners have entered the race to sign Eintracht Frankfurt striker Ekitike and the France international is ‘once again playing a serious role in Arsenal’s transfer plans’.
It is understood that ‘there has been little progress’ in the Gunners’ attempts to sign Sesko or Gyokeres and Berta is now ‘considering’ Ekitike and former Manchester City striker Julian Alvarez.
The report adds: ‘Berta and Arsenal actually don’t want to pay a mega transfer fee in the region of €100 million. However, there are now voices saying that if Arsenal can’t significantly negotiate the price for Gyökeres and Sesko, and a higher sum would be needed for a new attacker anyway, Ekitike will suddenly become a real attraction.’