Arsenal could be surprise entrants in the race to sign Brighton and Hove Albion midfielder Carlos Baleba, according to reports - with the Gunners now eyeing a move for the sought-after Premier League starlet despite various teams being interested in a deal.
Baleba, who joined Brighton two years ago for a fee of around £25.5million, has already become a key member of Fabian Hurzeler's squad, but his excellent performances have already tempted a number of English clubs. And that could see the Gunners make a move for his signature to beat other Premier League rivals from adding him to their squad.
Report: Arsenal 'Closely Monitoring' Carlos Baleba Move
carlos baleba
The report by CaughtOffside states that Baleba has caught the attention of leading European clubs in recent weeks, due to his performances for Brighton - and although Manchester United are the frontrunners in the race for his services, having opened talks for the Cameroonian star on Wednesday, Arsenal are also in the race for his services.
The Gunners are 'closely monitoring' a move for the Seagulls star, who has been a key player in their first-team squad for two years, making 34 top-flight outings last season with three goals to boot, seeing him labelled as 'exceptional'.
Baleba has impressed the Gunners, with his tactical awareness and physically-imposing nature contributing well to Brighton's eighth-placed finish in the Premier League - and despite signing Christian Norgaard and Martin Zubimendi to their central midfield positions, a deal for Baleba in the future could be just what Mikel Arteta needs.
Declan Rice has shown his proficiency going forward and could be used in the No. 8 role going forward, and Baleba could then sit alongside the Englishman and Zubimendi in defensively tight games, or behind Rice and Martin Odegaard when playing a more attacking style.
The report states that Brighton have set an asking price of £60million for Baleba, despite other reports suggesting that it would cost over £100million to land the former Lille starlet - and a deal could be especially difficult to complete due to the fact that Baleba has long-term deal on the south coast.
Baleba would be 'attracted' to the idea of playing for a big club with Arsenal's stature and so the deal is one to watch going forward, with the Gunners looking to end their trophy drought under their Spanish boss, having failed to win any major silverware for half a decade - despite coming second in the Premier League for three years in a row.
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