Arsenal have made an £18 million bid for AS Monaco midfielder and France international Geoffrey Kondogbia.
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According to reports in Spain [via the Daily Star], the Gunners have made a formal approach for the 21-year-old, although they may face competition from other Premier League sides.
Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United are all rumoured to be keeping tabs on the central midfielder, and considering the interest in the player, it remains to be seen if the Club of the Principality will accept the North Londoners’ offer.
The tabloid are unconvinced that Monaco will be tempted to offload the player for this fee, and instead anticipate that it would take an offer of at least £25 million for ASM to consider a sale.
Leonardo Jardim’s side will surely be hoping that Arsenal’s confirmed interest can prompt a bidding war among the Premier League rivals.
Kondogbia has been a key figure for Monaco this season as they overcame a slow start to roar back into contention in Ligue 1.
They ultimately sealed a Champions League spot, pipping Olympique de Marseille and AS Saint-Etienne to third place in the French top flight.
Kondogbia also impressed in the European Cup, and was particularly impressive in the high-profile double-headers against Arsenal in the round of 16 and Juventus in the quarter-finals.
The pursuit of Kondogbia raises questions about the futures of several current Gunners midfielders—Mathieu Flamini [Mirror], Mikel Arteta [Metro] and Abou Diaby [Mirror] have all been linked with a move away from the Emirates Stadium this season.
Similarly, Arsene Wenger’s decision to move for Kondogbia may indicate the end of the club’s desire to recruit Southampton’s Morgan Schneiderlin, with United believed to be keen on the long-time Gunners target [via Sky Sports].