Sven Mislintat is looking for a long-term replacement for Nacho Monreal as one of four positions he wants to strengthen this summer, so let’s look at who he could sign.
We recently covered reports of the four areas Arsenal’s new head of recruitment wants to strengthen over the summer, which you can check out here.
One of these areas was at left-back, as it becomes more apparent Nacho Monreal is struggling with the physical demands of the position, and Sead Kolašinac slowly adapts to Premier League life.
In this case Arsenal are looking for someone to support and eventually take over from the club’s current options.
Here are some players they should consider:
1Jose Gaya
- Age: 22
- Current club: Valencia CF
- Contract until: 2020
- Market value: £22.5m
At just 22 years of age, Gaya has already played 137 matches for Valencia’s first team. This season he’s once again a regular in the starting eleven, making 25 league appearances as the Spanish side sit comfortably in the top four.
According to reports, Gaya’s release clause will drop to £25.4m this summer, a very decent price for such a young and experienced player.
Arsene Wenger’s team would need to move fast to sign the left-back though. Manchester United and Chelsea have both reportedly joined Arsenal in the race for his signature. The Gunners might have an advantage though, as they’ve dealt with Valencia a lot in the past.
In the summer, Arsenal sold Gabriel Paulista to the Spanish side. They then followed that up with the transfer of Francis Coquelin in January. Before that, Wenger signed Shkodran Mustafi the previous year. Perhaps the Spanish u21 international could be the next transfer in the saga.