Arsenal could be about to bring Bayern Munich star Matthijs De Ligt to the Emirates Stadium, in a blockbuster move.
Despite announcing Takehiro Tomiyasu has signed a new deal, mere days after tying up Ben White, the Gunners require cover in defence. Injuries to the likes of Tomiyasu, Jurrien Timber, Oleksandr Zinchenko and even stand-in right-back Thomas Partey have left the Gunners a little short at the back in recent months.
William Saliba has played every minute of the Premier League campaign thus far – but with memories fresh of the Frenchman's injury last term, which in part derailed Arsenal's hopes of landing the title, a new defender is said to be on the agenda for this summer.
Spanish outlet Marca may have indirectly proposed a solution, with Bayern Munich said to be willing to offer Barcelona €100 million for Uruguayan stopper Ronald Araujo. The move would be a record for a centre-back, overtaking Harry Maguire's £85m fee.
It would leave Die Roten with a surplus of defenders, however, with one obvious exit. Kim Min-jae only signed last summer, Dayot Upamecano has stated his desire to stay and Eric Dier is set to join permanently this summer. It would be unlikely for De Ligt to remain as a backup to the others.
De Ligt was linked in January with Arsenal by journalist Paul Brown, who noted, “a partnership with him and Saliba might work would be interesting to see.”
In FFT's view, the 24-year-old would be a superb addition, with Arsenal needing another centre-back to play the role that Saliba masters so well. De Ligt could easily be used either side of the Frenchman, too, though the cost and playing time for such a big player may be an issue.
Arsenal would likely have to pay around £60m for a player of De Ligt's experience and quality. With Mikel Arteta's first-choice back four of White, Saliba, Gabriel and Zinchenko seemingly set, there's no obvious place for De Ligt to start regularly – while links in the Portuguese media for Ousmane Diomande would make more sense, given his stature in European football.
De Ligt is valued at €65m by Transfermarkt.
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