Arsenal Battle Liverpool For £15.5m Wonderkid After Asking Price Is Slashed

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Gunners and Reds both interested in Lazio star Keita Balde Diao.

Arsenal will rival Premier League rivals Liverpool for the January signing of 19 year-old Serie A hotshot Keita Balde Diao from Lazio, report the Express, after the club from the Italian capital slashed their asking price for the wonderkid from £24 million to a more palatable £15.5m.

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Balde has really broken into the first team at Lazio this season and become an important player for the Serie A club but, with the Roman side continually willing to sell their best players, the 19 year-old could well be moving on to the Premier League in January.

Despite Arsenal having Danny Welbeck in red hot form and Olivier Giroud being set to return from injury in the New Year, Arsene Wenger is believed to be interested in a deal for the former Barcelona youngster, who once scored an incredible 47 goals in one season whilst on loan at UE Cornella in the Spanish lower leagues.

Liverpool, however, may have the biggest need, with Mario Balotelli having struggled to find his form at Anfield since arriving at the club from AC Milan for around £16m this summer.

A recent injury to Daniel Sturridge has shown the lack of attacking depth that Brendan Rodgers has at Anfield, with Balde both capable of solving that issue and continuing the club’s trend of signing exciting young players for the future.

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