Arsenal have set their sights on an £85m winger as their main transfer target, while Vini Jr is making up his mind.
Arsenal are now looking at another top winger from Europe after missing out on their main target, Vinicius Junior.
After finally winning the Premier League for the first time under Mikel Arteta, many expected Arsenal to be very active in the transfer market this summer. But so far, the champions have been fairly quiet. They’ve made a few moves, like signing Piero Hincapie permanently after his loan, bringing in backup keeper Ilan Meslier on a free transfer, and signing Christos Tzolis from Club Brugge for £34 million.
The biggest signing Arsenal hoped for was Real Madrid star Vinicius Junior, especially since there were talks he might leave the Spanish club. However, contract talks between Vinicius and Real Madrid slowed down because of some demands, including a bonus that the club worried could cause issues with other players.
After weeks of hoping to sign him, Arsenal’s chances ended when Real Madrid announced on Thursday that Vinicius had agreed to extend his contract by six more years, keeping him at the club until June 2032. Vinicius shared on Instagram, “Eight years at the Bernabeu are too short… Six more years, and then forever.” Real Madrid also praised him as a key player during their most successful times.
With Vinicius staying put, Arsenal now need to look for other options to boost their attack before the transfer window closes on September 1.
According to a new report from The Times, Arsenal have set their sights on Juventus winger Kenan Yildiz. They made an initial inquiry in June, but Juventus wasn’t interested in selling their promising 21-year-old Turkish player then.
Now, with Vinicius off the table, Arsenal are ready to push harder to sign Yildiz, who was awarded Serie A’s ‘Rising Star’ last season. But since Yildiz signed a contract with Juventus until 2030 just this February, any deal will likely be expensive.
Last year, Juventus reportedly asked for €100 million (£85.7 million) for him when Premier League clubs like Chelsea and Manchester United showed interest. Juventus coach Luciano Spalletti recently said, “He is very important to us, so we are carefully managing his playing time to keep him in top form. Seeing him happy and able to play freely is what matters most.”
If Arsenal can convince Juventus to sell Yildiz, it would no doubt spark interest from other big clubs, leading to a fierce battle to sign him before the window closes.