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Arsenal chasing £43m Ligue 1 star as Arteta kick-starts summer overhaul

By on June 24, 2021

According to reports in France via the Metro, Arsenal are actively looking at a potential deal to sign Rennes star Eduardo Camavinga but remain keen on Lyon midfielder Houssem Aouar.

Mikel Arteta knows he needs to overhaul the Arsenal squad this summer after we finished eighth in the Premier League last season and there’s expected to be a huge amount of incomings and outgoings over the coming weeks.

Midfield is going to be a key area of concern as Granit Xhaka is set for a move to Italy, Dani Ceballos and Martin Odegaard have returned to Real Madrid while Lucas Torreira, Matteo Guendouzi, Ainsley Maitland-Niles and Joe Willock are all expected to leave the Emirates.

That leaves Arsenal extremely light in the middle of the park so Arteta will need to bring in at least two new midfielders this summer and we’ve been linked with a whole host of names in recent months.

Aouar is one player who’s been strongly touted as a target for Arsenal over the past year and the Metro are citing a report from Le10 Sport that claims we remain keen on the Lyon attacking midfielder having attempted to land him last summer.

The Metro suggests that Lyon may be prepared to sell Aouar for just £20m – which seems like a ridiculously low price for a player of his quality – after they failed to qualify for the Champions League last season.

Aouar still a target

However, while Le10 Sport says Arsenal remain keen on Aouar, the French outlet claims we’re focussing our efforts on trying to sign Camavinga instead after identifying the Rennes wonderkid as a prime target.

Houssem Aouar

Camavinga has forged a reputation as one of the hottest young talents in Europe after establishing himself in the Rennes first team last season and he’s already been capped three times in the French national team – which is no mean feat given his age and the quality of competition he’s up against.

Understandably, a deal for the 18-year-old midfielder won’t come cheap as the Metro claims he’ll command a transfer fee of at least £43m [€50m] and no doubt we’ll face stiff competition for his signature if he decides to leave Ligue 1 this summer.

I’d love to see Arsenal make a real statement in the market by luring Camavinga to the Emirates as I think he’d be a superb long-term addition to the squad but it’s not going to be easy given the other clubs being linked.

The good news is Camavinga has just one year remaining on his contract so Rennes are under pressure to cash-in if he doesn’t sign an extension soon. That should put Arsenal in a strong position during any negotiations and we may be able to lower their supposed £43m asking price.