Chelsea and Arsenal are both believed to keen on Kostas Manolas and are prepared to double the Roma defender’s wages to convince him to move to the Premier League.
According to the Metro, the London giants are both in the market for a new centre-back this summer, and there are not many better around in Europe than the Greece international.
Italian publication Gazzetta dello Sport understands that Manolas, who has made 86 appearances for Roma since joining from Olympiacos in 2014, earns £1.24m a year in Italy.
But the same source claims that Chelsea and Arsenal would be willing to offer him a huge pay rise to £3.3m-a-year, a figure which could increase if the rivals get into a bidding war.
His agent has confirmed that Manolas has already rejected the offer of a new contract at Roma, as the Metro reports, and it is anticipated that he will seek to leave this summer.
Arsenal are perhaps in greater need of his services – they are unlikely to win that elusive Premier League title without finding a better defensive partner for Laurent Koscielny.
Chelsea have more options at centre-back, but the likes of John Terry, Branislav Ivanovic and Gary Cahill are all ageing, and new manager Antonio Conte may fancy some fresh blood.
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