Kike Marin claims Arsenal are in for young Ajax star defender Matthijs de Ligt, along with four other top clubs, after the player requested a summer transfer.

The Latest

According to reports in the Netherlands, De Ligt has told Ajax he wants a transfer this summer. Manchester City, Bayern Munich, FC Barcelona and Tottenham Hotspur are four clubs chasing the player’s signature.

However, Marin added one more name to the list, Arsenal:

https://twitter.com/Kike_Marin_/status/994120810590887936

The journalist was one of the first to call Aubameyang’s transfer to Arsenal in January. He confirmed the club’s intentions to complete a move on the 14th, well before the eventual deadline day transfer.

https://twitter.com/Kike_Marin_/status/952612829156257792

This isn’t the first we’ve heard of Arsenal’s interest in De Ligt. Last month Mundo Deportivo reported that the club were already negotiating with the 18-year-old’s representatives.

So why is such a young player generating so much interest from the top clubs?

Despite his age, De Ligt is already a regular starter for his club. He’s up to 39 appearances in all competitions this season, starting in every single one of those. Although the Eredivisie obviously isn’t the same level as the Premier League, it’s still not easy to ignore such a young player comfortably getting starts there every week.

De Ligt’s main strengths are his aerial duels and passing, which should help him fit into the Arsenal team pretty well. We’ll have to see whether they can fight off the competition for his signature.

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: £36m

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.

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. He helped Roma to the Champions League semi-finals, although they didn’t do so well up against Liverpool.

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 20 goals in 36 league games this season, the second-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: £31.5m

Stefan de Vrij’s market value may be in 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 is currently in the midst of a Europa League campaign 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. Now relegation is a certainty, that clause will definitely be available for Arsenal to activate.

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.

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 since recovering he still hasn’t made 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.