According to German publication Sport Bild, Bayer Leverkusen are close to reaching an agreement with Arsenal defender Sead Kolasinac over a permanent transfer.
Bild report that the Bundesliga side are keen on recruiting new players after banking up to €100m from the sales of Kevin Volland and Kai Havertz this summer.
It’s added that the left-back could be signed in a deal worth around €10m, however Leverkusen wish to sell a defender before committing to the signature of the Bosnia international.
Bild also claim that Leverkusen will offset any of Kolasinac’s wage concerns – he earns around €9m a year on his Arsenal deal that runs until 2022 – by offering the ace the same amount over a longer contract term.
SportWitness claimed via Bild a couple of weeks ago that Peter Bosz may see Kolasinac as an option at centre-back, which makes sense given they already have left-backs in Wendell and Daley Sinkgraven.
Whilst Kolasinac has looked unflattering whilst deployed in the heart of defence on a few occasions for Arsenal this season, he’d offer Leverkusen their only left-footed centre-back option.
Kolasinac started 23 of his 32 appearances across all competitions last season, the hard-man wouldn’t have seen this much action if it wasn’t for Kieran Tierney’s injury troubles in his debut campaign.
Arsenal parting with the ace certainly seems wise as Kolasinac isn’t really suited to the wing-back role that comes with Mikel Arteta’s 3-4-3 system, whilst the 27-year-old also has to compete with several options to win a regular spot at centre-back.
With all respect, it’s fair to assume that Kolasinac would be on the fringes if it wasn’t for the injuries that Arsenal currently have in defence, with the likes of Pablo Mari and Calum Chambers sidelined.