Arsenal face new competition in battle to sign £5m forward

Aston Villa have joined Arsenal in the race to sign Leicester City star Jeffrey Schlupp, reports the Daily Express.

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The 22-year-old can play either at left-back or further forward on the wing, and has drawn this interest after a great season for the Foxes. He played 35 times for Nigel Pearson’s side, scoring four goals and creating two more for his teammates. The Ghana international even impressed enough to win both the club’s young player and the players’ player awards.

The Villans had Kieran Richardson at left-back for much of the last campaign, but manager Tim Sherwood won’t want to become embroiled in another relegation battle and may want an improvement on the 30-year-old. Meanwhile the Gunners already have Kieran Gibbs and Nacho Monreal to play in the position, but neither has really made the role their own at the Emirates.

This isn’t the first time that the youngster has caught the eye of a Champions League club, with the defender having had a month long trial with Manchester United before going to the King Power stadium back in 2013. It would seem have been a good decision to not sign for the Red Devils, with the regular first team football going well for him with Leicester.