Arsenal are looking into whether a deal for Juventus’ Kenan Yildiz is possible in this window, as Mikel Arteta seeks to complete his transfer plans for an assault on both the Champions League and Premier League for the new season.
The Basque has long identified the left side attack as a priority position to upgrade, with Real Madrid’s Vinicius Jr having been the ideal target. The Brazilian’s decision to stay at the Bernabeu caused Arsenal to reconsider the situation, and some thought has been given to waiting until either January or next summer when other deals could become possible.
The club would probably have moved for Bournemouth’s Jan Kroupi had it not been for his injury, and that does represent an option for January.
Yildiz has nevertheless been high up on their list of targets, with Arteta especially keen on the Turkish international. The fact he is 21 years old would also represent a shift back to signing talents who can evolve, after two moves in Ezri Konsa and Bruno Guimaraes of buying players in their prime.
The Arsenal hierarchy do want to ensure more outgoings, while Juventus would be hard line on a player who is one of their burgeoning talents. They would want upwards of £60m, and also have to consider fan backlash. One solution that has been raised is Gabriel Martinelli potentially going the other way, but that would still require considerable negotiation.
As with Kroupi, however, thought has been given to waiting until future windows.
The future of Julian Alvarez also weighs over this. The Argentine has been Arsenal’s main target after Vinicius, but interest cooled when it became apparent he wanted to stay in Spain and go to Barcelona.
With Atletico currently completely unwilling to deal with Barcelona, however, there is the possibility that an opportunity opens up the closer the window gets to closing.