Both Liverpool and CSKA are also keen on the Senegalese.
Premier League leaders Arsenal have stepped up their chase for in-demand Anderlecht centre back Cheikhou Kouyate, according to reports in the Daily Mirror.
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The north London club have been keeping close tabs on the imposing Senegal international for some time now and the Gunners now look like pushing ahead with plans to bring Kouyate to the Emirates now that the January transfer window has opened again for business for the season.
It is understood that officials from the north Londoners met with both Kouyate and his agents in the capital on Thursday to discuss the central defender’s switch to the Gunners.
The Senegalese has also been attracting the attentions of both fellow Premier League outfit Liverpool and Russian Premier League giants CSKA Moscow in this month’s transfer window, although Arsenal are believed to be confident of being able to persuade the player to join them instead this month.
Kouyate, 24, has been with Anderlecht for the past six years now, during which time the central defender has managed to hit the back of the net on three occasions in his 111 league outings for the Belgium side.
And with a contract until June 2016, Kouyate is believed to be valued at just £5.5m by his club.