Arsenal, Chelsea and Lazio are reportedly battling it out over the signature of Bayer Leverkusen star Hakan Calhanoglu this summer.
The 23-year-old scored seven goals and provided seven assists in 22 appearances last season, and has continued to establish himself as a key figure at international level too.
Known for brilliant set-piece ability, it appears as though the Turkish international is attracting plenty of attention with The Sun reporting that Arsenal, Chelsea and Lazio are all set to battle it out over his signature.
Further, it’s claimed that Leverkusen have placed a £32.5m price-tag on Calhanoglu, although they could be willing to discuss a lesser deal depending on the offer.
The playmaker’s versatility also makes him a dream for interested parties, with an ability to play through the middle or out wide, and unfortunately for Arsenal fans, they may need to someone to fill various roles next season depending on their success in convincing Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez to stay at the Emirates.
Both players are out of contract in 12 months time, and with no progress being made in extension talks, as far as publicly being made available, it looks as though Arsene Wenger could be looking for replacements sooner rather than later.
Calhanoglu has been serving a suspension relating to a previous transfer he was involved in a few years ago, and so he’ll be itching to get back into pre-season and first-team action next season, but it remains to be seen where he will be plying his trade.
Chelsea need reinforcements ahead of their return to the Champions League, while Lazio remain an appealing proposition with Simone Inzaghi leading his men to fourth place in Serie A last season as they look set to try and push on and get into the top three in Italy next year.