Arsenal Transfer News: Arsenal Place £24 Million Bid for Gladbach's Swiss Midfielder Granit Xhaka
Arsenal are on the look out for reinforcements to the first team squad following a disappointing season and it seems that their first move in the transfer window is going to be a deal for Borussia Monchengladback midfielder Granit Xhaka, according to reports in The Sun. Arsenal has been linked with a summer move for the Swiss central midfielder for a few weeks and there have been reports stating that Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has even spoken to the player's representatives regarding the personal terms.
According to the latest reports, Arsenal has placed a bid of £24 million with the German club for the services of their current captain but that is short of what Gladbach are demanding for their prized asset. The asking price for Xhaka has been set at £32 million by his club and Arsenal's initial bid falls well short of that valuation, however the people in charge of the transfer are confident that a deal will eventually be agreed by both clubs. The negotiations are still ongoing regarding a transfer fee.
One of the biggest reasons why Arsenal are looking at reinforcements in central midfield is due to the fact that there could be a mass exodus of players from the North London club this summer and players like Mathieu Flamini, Mikel Arteta and Tomas Rosicky are set to leave the club as their contracts will come to an end at the end of the season. On the other hand, younger players like Jack Wilshere and Frances Coquelin suffered from long injuries which hampered the club's English Premier League campaign in 2015-16. In addition to that, Xhaka is the captain at Monchengladbach and it seems that Arsene Wenger has finally found a player who he believes would bring the much needed leadership to the heart of Arsenal's midfield. It is believed that in addition to Xhaka, Arsenal is also in the market for a new centre back, a left back and striker as they look to completely overhaul the squad that failed to challenge for major trophies in the 2015-16 season. The club has reportedly sanctioned a transfer budget of £75 million on transfers.
