The 27-year-old was born in Germany and is thought to be keen to return for family reasons
Wednesday 30 September 2020 09:42, UK
Bayer Leverkusen remain in talks with Arsenal over a deal to sign defender Sead Kolasinac.
Sky in Germany report that Leverkusen have recently intensified their efforts to sign the Bosnia-Herzegovina international, who has fallen behind Kieran Tierney and Ainsley Maitland-Niles in Mikel Arteta's plans.
The 27-year-old, previously linked with a move back to former club Schalke, was born in Germany and is thought to be keen to return to the Bundesliga for family reasons.
Kolasinac, who has made 107 appearances for Arsenal since joining on a free transfer from Schalke in 2017, was an unused substitute on Monday as the Gunners lost 3-1 to reigning Premier League champions Liverpool.
He started the 2-1 league win over West Ham earlier this month as well as the 2-0 Carabao Cup victory over Leicester, playing 90 minutes in both matches.
However, with Bukayo Saka also able to play as a wing-back, Arsenal appear to be comfortable cashing in on Kolasinac, who has entered the final two years of his contract.
Leverkusen, who recently sold Kai Havertz to Chelsea in a £75.8m deal, should have the funds to get the deal over the line.
Kolasinac would become the second notable departure from Arsenal this summer, following the sale of goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez to Aston Villa for £17m.
The Gunners have been linked with a late move for Lyon midfielder Houssem Aouar, with the French club's president Jean-Michel Aulas saying that Arsenal are "too far away" from the player's value.
The north London club are also looking to bring in Atletico Madrid's Thomas Partey but it is thought they would need to offload Lucas Torreira first.
All the latest news, analysis and rumours from the window in one place.
The summer transfer window will run for 10 weeks from July 27 and close at 11pm on October 5.
A domestic-only window for trades between the Premier League and EFL then runs from October 5 and closes on Friday, October 16 at 5pm. Follow all the news and analysis on Sky Sports News and across Sky Sports' digital platforms, including with our dedicated Transfer Centre blog.
