Arsenal could reignite their interest in Leon Goretzka in the summer after ‘knocking on the door’ in January but the Gunners are ‘closer’ to signing a £52m ‘rival’ ahead of Bayern Munich.
Arsenal decided not to add to their ranks in January as they chase the quadruple, but were linked with late moves for midfielders following the long-term injury suffered by Mikel Merino.
Rumours were rife of a last-gasp bid to sign Newcastle’s Sandro Tonali, though his agent later insisted there was nothing to them, and it was also claimed that Arsenal made a play for Bayern star Leon Goretzka, who recently confirmed he would be leaving the German club at the end of his contract in the summer.
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Christian Falk revealed in his Bayern Insider column that Arsenal did indeed ‘make an offer’ for Goretzka, who was ‘very interested’ in the move, though decided to honour his commitment to Bayern.
And now Falk has revealed that Arsenal are still in the running for Goretzka, who will be a free agent when his contract expires in the summer.
He wrote: ‘It is TRUE: Arsenal are considering bringing Leon Goretzka to London this coming summer. Remember, there was an offer from Atletico Madrid; there were negotiations in the January window.
‘Goretzka said no. I heard he wants to move to the Premier League next season. Arsenal knocked on the door late in the winter window, but Goretzka had already made his decision to stay put for the remainder of the season.
‘However, at this point, there were preliminary talks to say, “perhaps we’ll talk again in the summer”.’
But Arsenal are also interested in 20-year-old Dutch midfielder Kees Smit, who’s also attracting interest from Real Madrid and Liverpool ahead of what looks set to be a bidding war for his services in the summer.
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AZ Alkmaar want at least €60m [£52m] for Smit and Falk has confirmed that while Bayern are keen, Arsenal are ‘closer to signing the player’ who could ‘rival’ Goretzka in a move to the Emirates.
He added: ‘It is NOT TRUE: Bayern are keeping a very close eye on Kees Smit ahead of the summer.
‘They have players in this position already. Don’t forget Aleksandar Pavlović, Tom Bischof, Joshua Kimmich, and Konrad Laimer. So, no, it’s not hot for Bayern Munich.
‘Smit is a player Arsenal is also interested in, so for Goretzka, this could be a potential rival for his position next summer.
‘From what I understand, Arsenal and the likes of Liverpool and Real Madrid are closer to signing this player than Bayern Munich.’
