Manchester City and Arsenal are reportedly fighting it out over Schalke defender Sead Kolasinac, as Pep Guardiola hopes to convince him to snub the Gunners.
The Bosnian international is out of contract at the end of the season, and has been strongly linked with a move to Arsenal this summer.
Despite weeks of talk suggesting that it was practically a done deal, Bild are reporting that Guardiola has entered the fray and is prepared to get City to match Arsenal’s wage offer of €140,000-a-week, which will work out at €7m-a-season, a €5m-a-year increase on what he’s currently earning at Schalke.
It’s suggested that Kolasinac is now ultimately weighing up the two options and will decide who to join as he’s all set on a move to England despite interest from AC Milan.
The 23-year-old has been a key figure for Schalke this season, making 34 appearances in all competitions, scoring three goals and producing nine assists.
Both Arsenal and City are in need of reinforcements at full-back, and so it promises to be an interesting battle between the two moving forward.
Guardiola will have the task of replacing an ageing group of stalwarts who are coming to the end of their contracts, while Nacho Monreal may well need replacing sooner rather than later by Arsene Wenger.
In turn, signing a player of Kolasinac’s ilk on a free transfer will be seen as a brilliant bit of business, while he’ll be looking to choose the right club to help him develop his game further and establish himself as one of the leading defenders in Europe.