Borussia Dortmund defender Sokratis is delaying signing a new contract at the club, with Manchester United, Arsenal and Juventus all following developments with the defender.

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According to German outlet RevierSport, the centre-back is holding off on a new deal as Dortmund push for Champions League qualification. If they fail to achieve it, it’s implied he’ll look to move elsewhere.

The report suggests Dortmund would want around €20m (£17.5m) for the 29-year-old. Sokratis’ contract lasts until 2019, so this is realistically their last change to cash in before he could leave on a free transfer.

It wouldn’t be easy for Arsenal to fight off competition from Manchester United and Juventus, two massive European clubs. However, if the team can win the Europa League and qualify for the Champions League, they have a chance.

After all, Sokratis will know that with the strength (or lack thereof) of Arsenal’s current defence, he’d slot straight into the starting eleven. He might not get that same opportunity at the other clubs. At 29 years old he won’t want to mess around sitting on the bench.

It’s hard to know whether Arsenal are really interested, considering Arsene Wenger’s imminent departure. We’ll have to wait and see what happens next.

Click ‘Next’ to see the 7 other defenders on Sven Mislintat’s shortlist

Daniele Rugani

• Age: 23
• Current club: Juventus
• Contract until: 2021
• Market value: £18m

Rugani is a young defender who has a few years of experience learning from the likes of Giorgio Chiellini, Andrea Barzagli and Leonardo Bonucci, playing for one of the biggest teams in Europe. It doesn’t get much better than that in terms of learning your defensive trade.

According to the player’s agent, Arsenal showed an interest in the centre-back in January, but didn’t make an official offer at the time. We’ll see if they decide to go back in the summer.

Despite his age, Rugani already caught the eye of a lot of fans and critics.

In 2015, Don Balon named him as one of the best young players in the world. He is an intelligent player, who prefers to win the ball with his positioning, rather than diving in.

He keeps his focus well, and has a very good eye for a pass. As we know, passing is a key trait if you’re going to play in defence for Arsenal.

If Mislintat wants to freshen up the defence without taking a big hit to the back-line’s level of top European experience, Rugani could be the answer.

Kalidou Koulibaly

• Age: 26
• Current club: Napoli
• Contract until: 2021
• Market value: £45m

According to recent reports, Arsenal sent scouts to watch Koulibaly as Napoli played RB Leipzig in the Europa League. The defender apparently “continues to like the English club a lot”.

The club also reportedly showed an interest last summer, making an enquiry for his services. Ultimately that led to nothing as Arsenal didn’t make any further signings until January.

Koulibaly’s strengths are his tackling and his passing, with over a 90% pass completion rate this season. Also, at 1.95m he provides a major physical presence in defence. That’s something which could be very helpful at Arsenal, especially as Per Mertesacker retires.

The biggest roadblock for Arsene Wenger if he wants to sign the Senegal international is the competition from elsewhere. Manchester United and Chelsea have both been following the defender for some time now.

Arsenal need to try and make it back into the Champions League if they want to compete with those two.

Kostas Manolas

• Age: 26
• Current club: AS Roma
• Contract until: 2022
• Market value: £31.5m

Very late in the January window, reliable BBC journalist David Ornstein confirmed Arsenal were exploring the possibility of signing the Roma centre-back. He also revealed that Arsene Wenger was trying to sign the defender back in the summer of 2016, before settling for Shkodran Mustafi.

Clearly the club like the centre-back, so they could revive that interest again this summer. The Manolas links feel like they’ve been going on forever, but at 26 he still has a lot of football ahead of him.

The defender is great in the air, and he has a lot of top level experience as well. This week he helped Roma to a Champions League clean sheet as they progressed to the quarter-finals.

Perhaps Arsenal could bring him in to join Konstantinos Mavropanos, a fellow Greek centre-back who joined in January. Roma are under no obligation to sell though, with Manolas’ contract lasting another four years.

Jose Gimenez

• Age: 23
• Current club: Atletico Madrid
• Contract until: 2020
• Market value: £31.5m

Gimenez recently signed a contract extension to 2020, otherwise he would’ve been a free agent this summer. Still, that’s not a particularly long contract in today’s market, especially for such a young and talented player.

In fact, recent reports suggest the player has a £57.3m release clause. If Arsenal wanted him badly enough, they could just pay up and get him. The Express wrote in February that the Uruguayan was Wenger’s “top target”.

Gimenez is a regular in Atletico’s well drilled defensive back line. They’ve only conceded 15 goals in 32 league games this season, the lowest in the league.

The 23-year-old is a threat on set-pieces, as he’s so strong in the air, and he also puts his body on the line to make blocks regularly. If Arsenal are willing to pay a bit more to lock down the position for a few years, Gimenez could be their best option.

Stefan de Vrij

• Age: 26
• Current club: Lazio
• Contract until: 2018
• Market value: £36m

Stefan de Vrij’s market value may be over £30m, but he’ll be available for free this summer. His contract is coming to an end, and he confirmed on Instagram that he won’t renew it.

According to reports, Arsenal, Manchester United and Liverpool are all interested in signing the defender. Wenger apparently sent scouts to watch the player in action recently. Last November the manager reportedly got in touch with Lazio over a transfer.

De Vrij has now spent three-and-a-half seasons in Italy, and recently made it to a Europa League quarter-final like Arsenal. So he has the experience, and has performed consistently for Lazio this season.

If the club are looking for a budget option to save their money for other positions, De Vrij could work well.

Jonny Evans

• Age: 30
• Current club: West Bromwich Albion
• Contract until: 2019
• Market value: £13.5m

Evans might not be the most popular candidate with fans for a move to north London, but he’s certainly a very realistic one.

According to rumours in January, the defender has a clause in his contract allowing him to leave for just £3m if West Brom get relegated. Alan Pardew’s side are rock bottom with four games to go, nine points away from escaping the relegation zone. They’re only on course to pick up two or three more based on their 2017/18 form so far.

David Ornstein confirmed Arsenal’s interest in the defender last summer. There were also reports towards the end of the January window that the club made a late bid, but started too low.

Evans is a massively experienced Premier League centre-back. He initially came through the ranks at Manchester United, and spent nine years with the senior side before joining West Brom. I wouldn’t rule out a transfer assuming they do end up going down.

David Luiz

• Age: 30
• Current club: Chelsea
• Contract until: 2019
• Market value: £25.2m

At the same time as revealing the Manolas links in January, Ornstein also revealed Arsenal were looking at David Luiz.

At the time it was possibly connected to the Olivier Giroud deal, so it’s not clear whether a deal could happen without that leverage.

On the other hand, Antonio Conte’s treatment of the defender this season suggests he could leave soon. The Brazilian played just two of Chelsea’s last 20 league games. Part of that was through injury, but even when fit he rarely makes the squad.

Add to that his expiring contract, and Arsenal would have a great chance to sign the defender if they wanted to.

Luiz has won most of the trophies available to him with Chelsea. He’s picked up the Premier League, the FA Cup, the Champions League and the Europa League. He’d certainly make an experienced addition to Wenger’s side.

Plus he’s very versatile, and could also help out in defensive midfield if necessary.