Greek centre-back Kostas Manolas could sign a new contract with Roma, according to reports, which could hamper Arsenal’s chances of procuring his signature.

The 26-year-old’s current contract expires in 2019, and, according to Gazzetta dello Sport via talkSPORT, Roma are keen to extend it to head off any interest from the likes of Arsenal, Chelsea and Zenit St. Petersburg.

Manolas was close to a move to Zenit last summer, while he was also heavily linked with an Arsenal during the summer of 2016. Arsenal reportedly made a £35m for the Greek defender that summer, in what was a ploy to get Valencia to lower their asking price for Shkodran Mustafi.

Arsenal were also linked with Manolas before he signed for Roma in 2014. He’s a player they’ve been watching for some time. The Greek defender has been a stand-out defender in Italy and could be a good solution for Arsenal once Per Mertesacker retires at the end of the season, in my opinion.

With doubts over Laurent Koscielny’s chronic tendinitis and the contrasting form of Shkodran Mustafi, the club will surely be looking at defensive options soon, either in January or in the summer.

In which case, they may hope that Manolas doesn’t extend his contract with Roma and become easier to sign.