The Gunners made a shock £60m bid for Watkins on Wednesday, which was rejected by Aston Villa, with reports suggesting they are preparing an improved bid as they look to bolster their threadbare forward options.
But Jhon Duran’s imminent £63m transfer to Al Nassr has thrown a significant spanner in the works and it appears Arsenal have now moved onto alternative targets as they look to strike a deal before the close of the window.
The Gunners may look to reignite their interest in Vlahovic, who chose Juventus over Arsenal in January 2022 but now wants to leave the Serie A club according to reports in Italy following the arrival of Randal Kolo Muani in Turin.
It’s claimed Juventus want to avoid a repeat of the Federico Chiesa scenario, when the Italian winger left in a cut-price deal to Liverpool, and therefore would rather find a buyer now than in the summer, when Vlahovic enters the final 12 months of his contract.
The Serbian has been benched by manager Thiago Motta for the last two games, with Kolo Muani scoring on debut against Napoli in his stead.
CaughtOffside confirm Arsenal’s interest in Vlahovic, claiming they’ve now ‘pivoted away’ from Watkins and will ‘push’ to sign either the 25-year-old or RB Leipzig’s Benjamin Sesko.
The report claims Sesko has ‘always been Mikel Arteta’s priority’ and suggests Leipzig’s elimination from the Champions League ‘could facilitate the player’s exit’, though the issue of his £67m transfer fee remains with ‘the Bundesliga side absolutely not open to reducing his price’.
It’s also claimed that Arsenal may consider a move for a Bukayo Saka backup if they struggle to source a more traditional centre-forward, with Bournemouth’s Antoine Semenyo and Brentford’s Bryan Mbeumo the players considered.
With that in mind they are also looking at Bayern Munich star Mathys Tel, who has played on the wing but prefers operating as a central striker, and has told the German side he wants to leave this month.
The Independent claim that Tel – who’s also being targeted by Tottenham – was already being tracked by Arsenal, who are now looking at a potential deal, with the 19-year-old thought to be ‘very open’ to the move.
‘The 19-year-old was already on the radar of Arsenal, with plans to bring in a new forward and the player fits all their criteria, especially regarding his potential to flourish with a consistent role. Tel is two-footed and can play across the forward line, while being able to move the ball with pace and is also considered to be a good finisher.
‘Mikel Arteta’s general preference has been for young signings who he can help to develop. The news that the French under-21 international has become available surprised Arsenal due to his obvious talent. It has naturally caused the club to look at a potential deal, and what could be done to convince Bayern to sell.
‘The German club would nevertheless want to keep a player of such talent, and seek to do some kind of deal where he can get the football he wants but retain the option to bring him back in the future.
‘Tel himself is also known to be very open to Arsenal, both due to the status of the club right now, but also the possibility for football due to the thinness of Arteta’s attacking options. The latter is not the case currently with Chelsea, who are also interested in Tel, due to the abundance of players they have in the forward positions.
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