Chelsea have attempted to land Arsenal youngster Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain as part of a deal that would see Petr Cech move to the Emirates Stadium, according to the Daily Mirror.
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However, The Mirror claim that Arsene Wenger has turned down the approach, which has left the Arsenal manager’s ongoing push to capture Cech hanging in the balance.
Blues boss Jose Mourinho is unlikely to want to lose Cech, especially to a Premier League rival, and he may look to bringing in a ‘homegrown’ Gunners star to help boost his side’s complement of players to help fill their necessary quota.
Cech found himself warming the bench at Stamford Bridge last season, with Mourinho ushering in Belgian Thibaut Courtois after his three season loan spell at Atletico Madrid, and the 33-year-old is understandably reticent about remaining in a support role for another campaign.
The Mirror claim that 21-year-old England international Oxlade-Chamberlain is ‘central’ to their plans but it’s worth noting that the versatile midfielder, who can also play in wide attacking roles, made just 17 Premier League starts last term.
Arsenal signed Oxlade-Chamberlain in a £12m deal back in August 2011 (Via the BBC) and the youngster is rightly considered a hot prospect but it’s fair to say that the fan favourite is yet to consistently deliver the goods for the North London side.
Arsenal wish to complete a straight £10m deal for Cech according to The Mirror as Wenger looks to bring in a keeper superior to his current options in that regard.
Pole Wojciech Szczesny started 2014/15 as Arsenal’s first choice keeper but was dropped after a shocking display on New Year’s Day against Southampton and whilst replacement David Ospina, who joined Arsenal from Nice last summer, initially impressed the Colombian made a number of errors in the final weeks of the campaign.
Though Cech found himself playing second fiddle at Chelsea last season the Czech Republic international is still rightly considered one of the best keepers in the Premier League.