Reports in Italy suggest that Arsenal are lining up a bid to bring Manchester City and Chelsea target Geoffrey Kondogbia to the Emirates Stadium.
Arsenal are now joining the race to sign Sevilla’s midfielder and they will try to beat clubs like Real Madrid, Chelsea and Manchester City for the player’s signature.
According to the website Tuttomercatoweb Arsenal’s biggest rivals to sign the player are not from England, with Real Madrid having shown a lot of interest.
The 20-year-old joined Sevilla only last season and has a contract there until 2017. Sevilla have also stated that they have no intention of selling Kondogbia but a clause in his contract could see him leave for £8.5m.
Sevilla president Jose Maria del Nido has confirmed that a bid has been received, but that it wasn’t sufficient.
He said: “We have rejected an offer for Kondogbia – the bid was not sufficient. Our idea is that he continues growing at Sevilla, just like he did last year. But there is a release clause that says if we have a written offer of £8.5million, we must accept it and he can go.”
Viktor Johansson