Arsenal look to have narrowly missed out on Leeds United’s Raphinha.
The Gunners have been in pursuit of the Brazilian for several weeks but according to a recent report from Fabrizio Romano, rivals Chelsea have moved into the driving seat.
Potentially set to miss out on one of their key summer targets and unlikely to want a repeat, another creative player the club could turn to is Real Madrid’s Marco Asensio.
That’s according to a recent report from AS, who claim the Londoners are one of three teams currently chasing Los Blancos’ number 11.
Although they’re not alone in their pursuit with Juventus and AC Milan also interested, Arsenal will take confidence from the fact that super-agent Jorge Mendes is actively trying to find his client a summer move.
The 26-year-old has just one year left on his deal and failure to move this summer would see the Spain international enter his final year at the Santiago Bernabeu with a huge cloud hanging over his head.
Although it may be a difficult deal to conclude, given the high-profile interest in him, Mendes’ preferred outcome is probably seeing his star-client move on to a new challenge in this window, rather than wait.
Asensio has been with Real Madrid since 2015 and he has won every trophy possible, including three Champions Leagues, so it isn’t like the attacking midfielder has any more to prove in La Liga.
However, with Juventus and AC Milan both in next season’s Champions League and Arsenal in the Europa League, it is going to be interesting to see which club can persuade the 26-year-old to join their project.
More must-reads: