Arsenal reportedly made a late £12m bid for West Brom’s Jonny Evans on deadline day but their offer was rejected, according to the Daily Telegraph.

The Gunners have been linked with Evans since we approached West Brom over signing him last summer. However, after splashing £55.5m on Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, it looked increasingly unlikely that Arsenal wouldn’t be spending the £20m the Baggies wanted on the centre-back.

It also looked increasingly unlikely that West Brom would sell their captain mid-way through the season.

telegraph 1 february 2018
Daily Telegraph, 1 February 2018

Alan Pardew’s side brought Daniel Sturridge in on loan from Liverpool until the end of the season.

This meant, they only had to pay the striker’s loan fee – £2m – and were no longer desperate for a large sum of cash in January.

It was the Baggies’ need for a top striker that made them keen to offload Evans – they needed the money.

With Sturridge on loan, they no longer had that problem.

Therefore, when Arsenal allegedly came in with a late offer of just £12m, they weren’t having any of it.

The Gunners probably knew their bid was far too low but wanted to be seen doing something to rectify their defensive problems.

The Gunners will reportedly return for Evans in the summer when the 30-year-old has just one year left on his West Brom contract and will cost even less.

Per Mertesacker is retiring at the end of the season and the club could really do with another centre-back in the squad. Evans could fill that gap.