Arsenal have seen their first bid for Sevilla midfielder Steven N’Zonzi rejected, but the La Liga club are preparing to receive another, according to reports in Spain.

El Confidencial write that their sources tell them Arsenal head coach Unai Emery has shown interest in signing the midfielder, and made a €15m offer to sign him. Sevilla immediately knocked the bid back though, as they’re hoping to bring in at least €25m for the 29-year-old.

To an extent, Emery’s old club are free to set their price, because N’Zonzi has a contract until 2020 and a €40m release clause. The only pressure to sell is coming from the player himself, who reportedly submitted a transfer request to force a move to North London.

El Confidencial claim this kind of request is essentially meaningless in Spain, but it does show N’Zonzi’s strong desire to play his football elsewhere next season. The midfielder has never stayed with the same club for more than three years in his senior career so far, and he clearly isn’t planning to make this the first time he does.

Right now, N’Zonzi is away with France at the World Cup, at the very least until Friday when they play Uruguay. In the meantime, Arsenal can keep negotiating with Sevilla over a deal.

One final thing to note is that El Confidencial insist the move has no bearing on the Lucas Torreira signing, which they claim is practically done.