Arsenal have made calls in recent days to try and hijack a move to sign RB Leipzig sensation Yan Diomande, according to Fabrizio Romano.
The Gunners are in the market to bolster their forward options despite winning the Premier League and reaching the Champions League final last season, and have already completed a deal to bring in Christos Tzolis as a replacement for Leandro Trossard, who has joined Besiktas.
But after missing out on a deal for top target Morgan Rogers to Chelsea, the north London club are pressing ahead with plans for alternative options, and one of those is Diomande.
Romano: Arsenal Make Calls for Diomande
Yan Diomande LeipzigAction Images
Diomande, who has been one of the breakout stars of the last 12 months, is a top target for Paris Saint-Germain, and has already given his preference to the French side over a move. But the European champions have been unable to agree a deal with RB Leipzig at this stage, with the Bundesliga side demanding at least €120m (£102.5m) to let him leave.
That has opened the door for Real Madrid to enter the race, after they tabled a €100m (£87m) offer on Friday night. That bid was instantly rejected, but while speaking in his latest YouTube video, Romano revealed that Arsenal have also been making checks to see if they can enter the race.
"Arsenal made some calls to understand the situation," he said. "Manchester City also made some calls to understand the situation.
"The two English clubs were calling [to ask], 'how is the situation?', 'what is the price?', 'can we enter', 'what's going on with the agents?', just trying to understand the situation in general."
Romano then followed up with a post on X, stating that the player has so far not opened the door to a move to the Premier League.
"Man City and Arsenal made calls for Yan Diomande over the last 10 days, but player's not opening doors," he wrote.
"No bids from PL + only club going all in to face PSG is Real Madrid with first €90m plus €10m bid rejected by RB Leipzig."
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Arsenal Pushing for Mega Summer
Yan Diomande vs GermanyThomas Mukoya via Reuters
Diomande has been one of the most sought-after forwards in the transfer window this summer, and Arsenal inserting themselves in the race shows that they have got big spending power.
Alongside the Ivorian, Arsenal are also pushing to sign Argentina forward Julian Alvarez, and have held direct talks over getting a deal done. That deal would also cost in excess of £100m, and it shows the ambition and vision the club have.
It won't be easy to get either deal done, but their intent is clear, and Gunners fans are likely to be very excited about how this situation plays out in the coming weeks.
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