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Arsenal want to sign £88m star, boss expects player to move

By mac14 on June 1, 2018

According to the Independent, Arsenal are hoping to sign Jan Oblak and Atletico Madrid boss Diego Simeone expects the £88m-rated goalkeeper to leave the club this summer.

New head coach Unai Emery needs to strengthen throughout the squad over the coming weeks but a new number one should be high on his priority list.

Petr Cech’s form was disappointing last season as he made several costly errors while David Ospina has never shown he’s good enough to command the first team jersey at Arsenal.

With Cech now 36, there’s no doubt we need to sign a reliable stopper this summer and the Independent are carrying a report that claims Arsenal chiefs are eyeing a sensational swoop for Oblak.

The Slovenian international has proven himself to be a world class keeper over the past few years and he kept an incredible 22 clean sheets in La Liga last season, with Atletico conceding just 22 goals!

There is little doubt Oblak would be a HUGE upgrade on our current keepers and he’d solve our goalkeeping problems for the next decade if we kept him happy in north London.

However, that sort of talent doesn’t come cheap as the 25-year-old has a release clause set at around £88m – according to the Independent – so we’d have to smash our transfer record to sign him.

The good news is that the Independent’s report says Simeone is convinced Oblak will leave Atletico this summer after stalling over a new contract that would see his release clause increase significantly.

In fact, the report goes on to say that Simeone is so sure Oblak will leave Atletico that he’s already lined-up Athletic Bilbao keeper Kepa Arrizabalaga as a replacement.

READ: Arsenal to bid £60m for French midfielder

So it looks like Oblak is on the market and clearly we’d all love to see him end up at Arsenal, however, Liverpool are also in the running and no doubt his price-tag will be a major stumbling block.

Reports suggest Emery’s budget is around £50m-£70m so he’d have to sell a key player to boost the kitty if we were to afford Oblak’s mammoth £88m release clause.