Arsenal is interested in £68 million Bayern Munich player as a potential transfer issue
Borussia Dortmund defender Nico Schlotterbeck and Bayern Munich’s Matthijs de Ligt are reportedly targets for Arsenal.
A number of well-known defenders are still being linked to Arsenal in the run-up to the January transfer window. With injuries to Takehiro Tomiyasu and Jurrien Timber, the Gunners are severely lacking in depth at the back, with Mikel Arteta being a light in the defensive department.
Goncalo Inacio and Ousmane Diomande of Sporting CP have been connected to it recently, and Nico Schlotterbeck of Borussia Dortmund is reportedly a long-term aim, according to The Athletic. Matthijs de Ligt of Bayern Munich is reportedly admired by Arteta’s coaching staff as well, but considering the expected high cost of both players, a January transfer seems improbable.
According to a report earlier this week by football.london, Arsenal is unlikely to have too much money to spend in January due to their large summer spending, thus loan agreements with a buyout option may be preferable. As things stand, though, it appears that Arsenal’s best bet is to find internal answers unless a transaction of that kind comes up.
Though his development has slightly slowed in the previous few of years, the aforementioned De Ligt was once considered the best young defender in Europe. The Dutch international left Juventus in the summer of 2022 to sign with Bayern for a reported amount of £68 million.
The star of Manchester City, Nathan Ake, has already discussed why his countryman is so highly regarded, drawing comparisons between him and Virgil van Dijk, the hero of Liverpool. In 2019, Ake said to Goal, “De Ligt is still so young but he has played so many games in top-flight football and for the Dutch national team.”
“What he is accomplishing right now is incredible. There will be a shift when you move to a new nation and join a new team, particularly one as large as Juventus when you’re only 19 or 20 years old.
“It’s great that he scored [against Torino], but everyone is really confident in him.” He is an excellent player, as you can see.
He is nimble, powerful for his age, adept in the air, and a fantastic ball player. He has many characteristics with Van Dijk because he scores so many goals from set pieces.”
