Arsenal are monitoring Leicester City winger Harvey Barnes but have not yet joined Tottenham in the race for his signature, according to Ben Jacobs in his CaughtOffside column.
The Gunners have three other priorities for the moment, according to Jacobs, with Mikel Arteta’s side keen to secure deals for Declan Rice, Kai Havertz and Jurrien Timber first.
Barnes impressed for Leicester in the Premier League last season, despite their relegation, and it makes sense that the 25-year-old is now likely to get a move back to the top flight this summer.
Arsenal could do with more depth in attack, so there might be room for Barnes to come in and provide an option off the bench, or allow star duo Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli to rest a bit more often.
Jacobs says Spurs are also ones to watch in the race for Barnes’ signature, though he denied recent reports about the north Londoners making a double bid for him and Foxes teammate James Maddison.
“Although Spurs are interested in both James Maddison and Harvey Barnes, I am not aware of a double bid despite reports. Leicester will treat any offers separately and if Spurs did move for both they would need a minimum of £80m, and perhaps even more,” Jacobs said.
“Barnes had a wonderful season for Leicester despite being relegated, scoring 13 Premier League goals. Spurs and West Ham are ones to watch. I would keep an eye on Villa, too, where Barnes’ ex-Leicester teammate Youri Tielemans moved to recently on a free transfer.
“Arsenal haven’t joined the race yet, but it’s probably fair to say they are monitoring the situation. But their priority is to get Declan Rice, Kai Havertz and Jurrien Timber done. Success for all three would see them spend close to £200m.”