Arsenal have reportedly launched an opening bid of £28m for Juventus striker Alvaro Morata, but they’ll likely have to increase it significantly to land their man.
The Spaniard is expected to return to Real Madrid this summer, with the La Liga giants set to exercise the buy-back clause in his contract, as reported by Marca.
However, their plan is to sell him on for a profit, and that has peaked the interest of several Premier League clubs looking for a new striker this summer.
Among them is Arsenal, and according to The Sun, they have started the bidding at £28m, although it is widely expected that they will see their offer rejected by Real.
Morata has played a limited role in Turin over the last two years, but he has done enough to prove his class and show that he deserves to be made an integral part of a big club.
The 23-year-old scored 12 goals and provided 13 assists in 47 appearances in all competitions this past season, including a number of key goals both in Serie A and in Europe.
It followed on from his heroics in the Champions League the previous year, and now he is desperate to secure regular football in the coming years.
With so much competition for places in Madrid, he’s likely to be against the idea of remaining with Los Blancos, and so now it will be down to Arsenal to meet the Spanish outfit’s valuation of the striker and add the type of player that Arsene Wenger desperately needs in his squad.
The Gunners have struggled without a forward capable of scoring 20 or more goals per season on a regular basis for years, with the likes of Theo Walcott and Olivier Giroud trying but ultimately failing.
At 23, Morata has the perfect blend of youthful exuberance and experience in a short career to date to be a huge success at the Emirates.