Arsenal will reportedly have to offer over £50m in order to secure the signing of Wolfsburg star Julian Draxler this summer.
The German international revealed this week that he wants to quit the Bundesliga outfit, and so in turn it alerted the Gunners to the situation as they have been tracking him for some time.
However, as reported by The Daily Star, Wolfsburg want more than £50m for the 22-year-old, and are seemingly in a strong position to demand such a hefty sum.
Essentially, they are in no rush to sell as Draxler remains an important part of their team while he still has four years remaining on his current contract with the club.
The former Schalke star may choose to make the situation more difficult by following through with his request to leave and refuse to play, but ultimately that is unlikely to happen.
As noted by The Star, Wolfsburg released their own statement in response to Draxler’s suggestion that the club would allow him to leave for a bigger club, and insisted that no such agreement was in place and that he wouldn’t be leaving this summer.
In turn, it remains to be seen how the situation develops as Arsenal will have to test the resolve of the club with a substantial offer, one that will likely see them surpass their record transfer fee of £42.5m to sign Mesut Ozil from Real Madrid in 2013.
Arsene Wenger will continue to come under pressure ahead of the new season over his lack of transfer activity, with Granit Xhaka the only notable signing thus far.
Rob Holding and Takuma Asano have also both joined the Gunners, but ultimately it won’t be seen as enough by many supporters who will be hoping to see the squad significantly strengthened between now and the end of the transfer window.
Time is certainly running out to bring in new faces before the start of the Premier League campaign though, with Arsenal hosting Liverpool next weekend.