Arsenal chase two midfield signings for Emirates Stadium summer recruitment.
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger is set to table a big-money bid for two key midfield players at Paris Saint-Germain to bolster his squad this summer, CaughtOffside understands.
The Gunners boss recently turned down the chance to re-sign Cesc Fabregas from Barcelona, allowing his former captain to make the move to Chelsea, much to the anger of many Arsenal supporters.
However, with Wenger currently blessed with a number of options in the creative midfield department, the Frenchman is instead keen to bring in a new signing further back to compete with the likes of Mikel Arteta and Mathieu Flamini, and has identified a previous target of his, Blaise Matuidi as a prime candidate.
The 27-year-old has also been linked with the likes of Chelsea and Manchester City in the past, but recently signed a contract extension to stay at the Parc des Princes until 2018 after looking like he could leave on a free this summer.
Still, with PSG bringing in the £48m signing of David Luiz from Chelsea, Matuidi’s place in Laurent Blanc’s side could be under threat, as it seems that the Brazilian could be deployed in a midfield role rather than defence, as he has done on occasion in the past.
With Thiago Silva and Marquinhos likely to be first choice in defence for the Ligue 1 champions, Luiz looks more likely to play further forward, where his fine technique and eye for goal can be used more effectively.
This has apparently alerted Wenger to the possibility that the player could leave for the right price, and it is thought that an initial offer of £28m has been made to PSG, with a further £15m likely to go on out-of-favour Argentine winger Ezequiel Lavezzi.
The former Napoli attacker has not quite found his best form in France, and has been linked with the likes of Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur in recent times as the club look set to allow him to leave on a cut-price deal before next season.
With Santi Cazorla possibly heading to Atletico Madrid in the coming months, the Gunners will be in need of new signings on the flanks, with Lavezzi emerging as Arsenal’s top target, as he will likely be cheaper than the likes of Pedro, Alexis Sanchez and Juan Cuadrado, who have also been mentioned as possible candidates for the north London club.
After spending £42.5m on Mesut Ozil last summer, Arsenal fans will be happy to see similar amounts invested again to strengthen two key areas of the squad.