Arsenal are arguably the busiest Premier League side at the moment and as customary, the North London club have left things too late in the transfer market and this could be a regretful decision.
The Gunners are looking to bring in a couple of players before the summer window is slammed shut and a defender is the prime target. They have earmarked Shkodran Mustafi as their number one target for the centre-half position, as they are presently short of bodies in that department. However, things could go from bad to worse for Arsenal.
Spanish website Eldesmarque reports that Liverpool are ready to hijack Arsenal’s deal for Mustafi and the Reds are now in deep negotiations with Valencia over the transfer of the German defence stalwart.
There were suggestions Arsenal have agreed a €30m deal to sign Mustafi, but Liverpool could offer higher fee and that could railroad Valencia into selling the former Sampdoria defender to the Merseyside outfit.
Want-away striker Joel Campbell has also been offered a chance to end his Arsenal nightmare by Sporting Lisbon. There are claims by Portuguese newspaper O Jogo that Sporting have been in contact with Arsenal and they want to take Campbell on an initial loan deal, after which they will consider a permanent move.
Sporting boss Jorge Jesus is a huge admirer of the Costa Rican international, as he attempted to sign him while in charge at Benfica and now, it appears he will finally get his man.
Lastly, Arsenal are in talks with Atletico Madrid over the transfer of Uruguayan international defender Jose Gimenez. The Gunners want to sign the young centre-back, with talks about the transfer of Mustafi taking longer than expected. The North London side also have Fenerbahce’s Simon Kjaer and Bayer Leverkusen defender Omer Toprak on their wish list.
