Arsenal are hoping to hijack Lazio’s deal for Eintracht Frankfurt midfielder Djibril Sow in the 11th hour.
The north London giants have already splashed over €200 million in this window on Kai Havertz, Declan Rice and Jurrien Timber, but they are not done with their summer’s transfer business yet. Mikel Arteta wants to reinforce his squad further as he plans to mount another assault on the Premier League title.
As things stand, the Gunners have a bloated squad which does need trimming before fresh blood is pumped in. They are trying to offload players such as Folarin Balogun, Mohamed Elneny, Albert Sambi Lokonga, Rob Holding and Kieran Tierney before the transfer window slams shut.
By moving them on, Arsenal would be interested in signing a new goalkeeper, with Brentford’s David Raya firmly on their agenda. In addition, they are reportedly looking at adding another midfielder in Djibril Sow, who has an agreement in place with Serie A outfit Lazio.
Sow, 26, has been plying his trade for Eintracht Frankfurt since leaving Swiss side Young Boys in 2019, making 120 Bundesliga appearances and scoring seven goals. He has performed well in the last couple of seasons which has caught the attention of Lazio boss Maurizio Sarri, who is in the market to replace Sergej Milinkovic-Savic in his midfield. However, Arsenal could now throw a spanner in Sarri’s works.
Arsenal keen to agree on a deal with Djibril Sow
Arsenal have already their midfield unit this summer with Declan Rice and Kai Havertz, and while many would consider the latter as a replacement for the departed Granit Xhaka, he remains a forward who will complement Arteta’s attacking setup.
Thomas Partey was expected to leave following the acquisition of Rice but a change of plans has seen Arsenal decide to keep the Ghana international. Yet, there’s still the void left by Xhaka that Arteta would like to address before the transfer window closes down. And perhaps, that’s why he is interested in signing Djibril Sow.
Lazio found an agreement of €15 million plus bonuses with Frankfurt to sign Sow, with the 26-year-old giving the green signal for the deal to go through. However, Arsenal’s late interest has seemingly changed the midfielder’s mind and he has begun to have doubts about what his role will be under Maurizio Sarri in Lazio.
It is understood Sevilla are also interested in Sow’s signature, while Arsenal are ‘trying to aggressively enter the negotiation’. Sow is an experienced midfielder with international pedigree, and he could become an astute addition to Arteta’s Arsenal side returning to the Champions League next season after a six-year absence.
I am Rohan Sengupta from one of the busiest cities in India, Mumbai. A Journalism graduate with a keen interest in sports, football is something I simply cannot live without and writing, discussing and analyzing the game is what I do 24*7.
