West Brom are planning a double swoop of Manchester United pairing Chris Smalling and Phil Jones, who were only rumoured to be joining Arsenal a month ago…

  • Smalling and Jones were both linked with Arsenal earlier this summer
  • They’re now targets for West Brom
  • Evidence, if you needed it, that Arsenal should stay away

Believe it or not, Jones and Smalling were both linked with a move to the Emirates earlier this summer. Reports suggested that the pair were no longer wanted by United and that Arsenal were monitoring the situation of two players they’ve tracked for a long time.

But according to the Daily Star, West Brom are the most interested in signing them. West Brom manager Tony Pulis wants to beef up his backline with the England duo and may have to pay around £30m for the pair.

Arsenal could potentially be looking at a centre-back this summer as they plan for Per Mertesacker’s retirement. There are also doubts about Laurent Koscielny’s fitness.

However, it’s likely that Arsenal will be setting their sights much higher than Smalling and Jones.