Arsenal are keen on an unsettled Monaco star

Keita Balde Arsenal Monaco

Arsenal's main transfer business so far this summer has revolved around defenders, but reports from France suggest they are looking to bolster their attack with a move for Monaco's Keita Balde Diao.

Balde signed for Monaco for €30m back in 2017 from Lazio, but the move didn't work out and he was loaned back to Serie A with Inter Milan the next season. 

Despite scoring five goals for Inter, they opted not to activate their option to sign Balde for €34m, and so he has returned to Monaco. However, French paper Le10 claim a move is still likely. 

With uncertainty surrounding the futures of Mesut Ozil and Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Arsenal have been linked with a number of attacking players this summer. 

However, after failing to qualify for the Champions League, their transfer budget is said to only be in the region of £45m. With defence the priority, most of this looks to be earmarked for moves for Kieran Tierney and William Saliba. 

As reported by David Ornstein today, Wilfried Zaha was a real target for Arsenal, but it's unlikely they'll be able to match Crystal Palace's £80m asking price. Balde would be a far cheaper alternative. 

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