Man Utd issue De Jong ultimatum; Arsenal plan Zinchenko swoop; West Ham consider Soucek sale
Arsenal are reportedly confident they can get a deal over the line for Gabriel Jesus this summer, while Manchester City would sell Oleksandr Zinchenko for the right price. The Gunners are looking to raid Mikel Arteta’s former club and have been hearing encouraging things back from the Premier League champions.
Arteta is desperate to sign some strikers when the transfer window opens on July 1. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was not replaced when he left for Barcelona in January, while, as things stand, both Eddie Nketiah and Alexandre Lacazette will be out of contract in a months’ time.
Nketiah is expected to stay after agreeing to a new five-year £100,000-a-week contract, but Lacazette is likely to leave on a free transfer. Man City’s Jesus has been identified as their top target, with Erling Haaland’s transfer from Borussia Dortmund perhaps forcing him to look for a new club.
Jesus is about to enter the final 12 months of his current contract and the Telegraph reports that Arsenal are ‘hopeful’ of landing the 25-year-old Brazilian. Despite his status in the squad and contractual situation Man City value Jesus at £55million, which could still prove to be a problem.
Meanwhile, the report states City would not stand in the way of Zinchenko if he chose to leave the club, but they would want a decent transfer fee. Arsenal are understood to be targeting a left-back this summer due to Kieran Tierney’s injury problems and Nuno Tavares’ shaky performances since arriving last summer.
Pep Guardiola is reportedly interested in Brighton left-back Marc Cucurella, meaning Zinchenko’s role at City could be further reduced in the future. Arteta worked with Zinchenko as a coach at City and is believed to consider him as an option in midfield, as well as at left-back.
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Mikel Arteta is trying to use his Man City connections (Image: GETTY)
The Ukraine international made just 15 Premier League appearances last term and, at 25 years old, could be keen to secure more regular game time away from the Etihad Stadium. Tierney is first-choice at Arsenal, but has struggled with injuries following his move from Celtic.
He underwent knee surgery in April and has only made 87 appearances for the club since joining from Celtic three years ago. Transfermarkt says he has missed 48 games due to several different problems over the past three years.
Zinchenko is not the only left-back Arsenal have been linked with. The Sun reports that Inter Milan’s Federico Dimarco has also been eyed. However, Inter’s £20m valuation of the defender, and his contract until June 2026, could be problematic.
