by Lewis Ambrose

With long-term rumoured Arsenal target Geoffrey Kondogbia completing a move to Internazionale, it wouldn’t be surprised to see the Gunners linked with another familiar name.

This time it was William Carvalho, an old flame from last summer, who reportedly has a release clause of €45M.

Let’s just start by saying there’s no way Arsenal will pay that (£32.32M) extortionate fee for a player in his early twenties who has done nothing outside of one of the biggest clubs in Portugal.

The Sun have said that Arsenal are willing to bid just below £30M for the midfielder who is currently impressing at the u21 Euros.

Replacement

But according to Portuguese newspaper Record AS Monaco are interested in Carvalho, who would presumably replace Inter-bound Kondogbia.

They say that the Ligue 1 club are only bidding €20M for the services of the midfielder, who may well remain at Sporting Lisbon once again.

It is clear that Arsenal won’t have a clear run at Carvalho if they are interested in him, and a move to Monaco may be more likely with them having cash to burn.

If Arsenal are willing to spend such a fee on a midfielder moves for Morgan Schneiderlin or Grzegorz Krychowiak both seem more likely after both players have proven themselves in well established leagues.