Arsenal Transfer News and Rumors: Arsenal Targetting Morata and Manolas in the Upcoming Transfer Window
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has set his sights on finding reinforcements in two key positions this summer and the club are currently targetting the signings of Juventus' Spanish striker Alvaro Morata and Roma's central defender Kostas Manolas, according to The Daily Mirror. Arsene Wenger acknowledges that the team has been short on goals in the 2015-16 season and one of the big reasons for that has been the indifferent form of his strikers Olivier Giroud and Theo Walcott, which is why he feels he needs to add a bit of class to his forward line with the signing of Alvaro Morata.
However, the signing of Morata might not be as straightforward as it may seem since Morata's former club Real Madrid have a buy back clause that is worth £23 million. Considering the fact that Morata might have a higher market value at the moment, the Spanish club might buy him for the above amount and then sell him to the North London club at a profit. Such an arrangement could happen and rumours have been doing the rounds for some time. Arsene Wenger has been a long time admirer of the highly rated Spanish forward and is known to be keen on completing this transfer.
On the other hand, the declining expertise of German central defender Per Mertesacker has forced the club to go for a new recruit in that position and Roma's Greek defender Kostas Manolas seems to be the club's target. Arsenal had been after Manolas two years ago but they were not prepared to meet Olympiakos' asking price of £12 million and the defender eventually signed for Roma. He has developed into a commanding defender over the past two seasons in Rome and Arsenal would have to pay much more than £12 million if they are to bring him to North London. That said, Arsenal do have money to spend considering their frugal transfer spending in the 2015-16 season. Arsenal have also been strongly linked with Borussia Monchengladbach's Swiss midfielder Granit Xhaka and a deal could be wrapped up when the transfer window opens.
