Edu wants to sign Red Bull Leipzig man Ibrahim Konate in the summer transfer window, according to The Evening Standard.
According to the Daily Mail, the 6 foot 4 ace has a £45m release clause in his current contract and has amassed interest from many clubs across Europe.
Arsenal were linked with the Frenchman’s defensive partner Dayot Upamecano a couple of years ago and even had a bid rejected for the centre-back.
Should Arsenal sign Konate?
Yes
No
From having too many centre-halves to not having enough, there never seems to be boring time if you’re a Gooner. Back during last summer’s transfer window, the club’s squad was full to the brink with central defenders with eight different options available to Mikel Arteta.
However, fast forward to March 2021, and the north London outfit could well be short of players come the end of the season. Shkodran Mustafi and Sokratis Papastathopolous had their contracts terminated back in January, meanwhile, David Luiz is a free agent in the summer.
There are also question marks over Calum Chambers’ future at the club with CBS Sports claiming the former Southampton man could be up for sale come May.
Should all these events pan out, it would leave Gabriel Magalhaes, Pablo Mari and Rob Holding as the only options for the club. William Saliba is set to return from his loan spell with Nice in Ligue 1, but, reports suggested the defender was up for sale back in January.
In Konate, the Gunners are targeting a fine replacement for the 19-year-old. His stock has risen considerably during his time with the Bundesliga outfit after he helped the club reach the Champions League semi-finals last campaign.
Given how well Arsenal have performed at the back this year, a defender wouldn’t seem a priority, however, depth is important and with options wearing thin, Konate could be a sensational signing.
In other news, Ray Parlour has labelled this Arsenal man as a future captain.
