Arsenal have reportedly reached a deal to sign Caglar Soyuncu, a centreback valued at over £30m by his club.

Done deal?

In the second week of April, Ozkan, chairman of Altinordu, the club that sold Soyuncu to Freibrug, said, “Caglar Soyuncu is in the Premier League. Big clubs are after him.”

He also commented on Bayern Munich’s reported interest, adding, “There’s not much information about that, but I’ve heard that they’re watching him.”

Links with Soyuncu are fairly new with the first reports emerging at the end of March.

Sven Mislintat was reportedly mulling over a move for the defender as the club look to solve their problems at centreback ahead of the new season.

The 6ft2 defender signed for Freiburg in the summer of 2016, arriving from Altinordu for a fee of £2.93m.

50 appearances later and he was supposed to be worth £30m but the Bundesliga side want more for him.

“We received no request from Arsenal,” Freiburg chief, Klemens Hartenbach told Badische Zeitung in April.

Soyuncu was said to be one of 8 players on Sven Mislintat’s shortlist for recruitment this summer.

We assess all 8, including Soyuncu, next.

Assessed: The 8 players on Sven Mislintat’s shortlist this summer

Arsenal Head of Recruitment Sven Mislintat has identified eight players for the club to consider signing this summer, ahead of what promises to be a busy window.

After last month’s revelation that Arsenal will focus their transfer efforts on four main areas, Football.London have listed eight of the individuals reportedly on their radar this summer.

Let’s take a look at each player, and how likely it is that they could be on their way to the club this summer.

Max Meyer

• Position: Central Midfielder
• Age: 22
• Current club: Schalke 04
• Contract until: 2018
• Market value: £18m

According to the rumours, Meyer is already keen on a move to Arsenal, so that’s a good start. Schalke’s sporting director, Christian Heidel, has also already admitted that the player is likely to leave this summer.

The player will be available on a free transfer unless he renews his contract. Although the Bundesliga club have made him a couple of offers to extend, he turned them both down.

We previously looked at Meyer as a possible replacement for Santi Cazorla, given his short stature, quick feet and creative abilities.

Looking at the current Arsenal squad, the German could make a good addition. The team don’t currently have many players capable of building attacks from the back. Instead, players like Özil and Mkhitaryan have to drop deep.

If Cazorla is still out by summer, the German would be a low risk option on a free transfer.

Arsenal aren’t the only club to hold an interest in the player though. Liverpool are also keen, and might lose a central midfielder of their own to a free transfer, with Emre Can seemingly departing this summer.

Bernd Leno

• Position: Goalkeeper
• Age: 26
• Current club: Bayer Leverkusen
• Contract until: 2020
• Market value: £16.2m

In recent weeks Leno has become the latest goalkeeper to be touted as Čech’s replacement.

The German travelled with his country to win the Confederations Cup this summer, although he only appeared once.

One of his biggest strengths is his distribution, something Arsenal goalkeepers have had a lot of trouble with lately.

For example, in the League Cup final David Ospina couldn’t even find a teammate with half of his passes. Meanwhile Bravo completed over two-thirds of his, and Manchester City saw the benefits of that.

This season, Arsenal’s keepers haven’t saved or distributed well enough, so they’re costing the team twice over.

Leno could be tempted by a move to Arsenal, but it probably depends on whether his current club make it into the Champions League, and whether Arsene Wenger’s side do as well.

Ousmane Dembele

• Position: Winger
• Age: 20
• Current club: FC Barcelona
• Contract until: 2022
• Market value: £72m

This rumour looks like a long-shot at best. Football.London point to the links to Mislintat, who signed the youngster for Borussia Dortmund, but even that isn’t particularly convincing.

Dembele only moved to Barcelona last summer, he’s very young, and they paid a massive fee for him. In fact, we already rounded up all the reasons why he won’t sign for Arsenal a few weeks ago.

Just to add one more to the list, Arsene Wenger told reporters this weekend he has “no need” to look at forwards this summer.

There’s no doubting the French international’s talent. Since returning from his latest injury he has four assists in 427 minutes. If he gets a good run of games he could push on even further.

For now though, it definitely seems too soon for him to move on.

Abdou Diallo

• Position: Centre-Back
• Age: 21
• Current club: 1. FSV Mainz 05
• Contract until: 2022
• Market value: £9m

Diallo was one of the first players Mislintat reportedly recommended for Arsenal to look at, but his manager ruled out a transfer in the winter window.

The defender is still young, but he’s already a regular in a top-five league. Mainz have given him 26 appearances this season, all of them starts. As we reported previously, he’s been in Kicker’s team-of-the-week consistently, so he’s playing well.

Bundesliga.com published an article earlier in the season focusing on his displays. They called him a “natural-born leader with an eye for goal” adding he’s a fast learner who just wants to be on the pitch as much as possible.

Another big positive in Arsenal’s pursuit of the centre-back is that he has experience in both of the Gunners’ current defensive systems.

Wenger has switched between a three-man defence and a four-man defence this season, which can be unsettling for defenders. Diallo has experience of both this season, and he’s performed well either way.

Ohis Felix Uduokhai

• Position: Central-Back
• Age: 20
• Current club: Wolfsburg
• Contract until: 2022
• Market value: £7.2m

Uduokhai is the other centre-back Mislintat reportedly recommended for Arsenal almost as soon as he joined the club.

The defender only moved to his current team in the summer. The Germany u20 international joined Wolfsburg from the second tier of German football, and has since become a regular for his new team.

Things have gone downhill a bit since the links late last year though. After so many starts in the early part of the campaign, he’s struggled with a knee injury keeping him from playing since late January.

If he can get fit and back in the team, maybe he has a chance of a move to Arsenal. After all, the club still don’t seem to have a single reliable centre-back pairing right now.

If he’s still having fitness troubles by the summer though, it’s doubtful the club will want to take a risk on him.

Caglar Soyuncu

• Position: Centre-Back
• Age: 21
• Current club: Freiburg
• Contract until: 2021
• Market value: £10.8m

Soyuncu is one of the more recent players the media have linked with Arsenal. Freiburg chief Klemens Hartenbach says the club haven’t had any contact over the defender just yet, but anyone interested would have to pay over £30m to sign him.

The 6ft2 defender signed for Freiburg in the summer of 2016, arriving from Altinordu for a fee of £2.93m.

Good on the ball and strong in the air, Soyuncu has been the subject of discussions at Arsenal as they try to identify which player they should move for to reinforce the centre-back position.

His other strengths include his blocking ability. He does, however, suffer from problems with concentration and can commit fouls too often.

The youngster is a full Turkey international with 13 caps to his name, his latest coming as a starter for his country against Morocco in this round of international friendlies.

Kerem Demirbay

• Position: Attacking Midfielder
• Age: 24
• Current club: TSG 1899 Hoffenheim
• Contract until: 2022
• Market value: £10.8m

Demirbay plays a position where Arsenal currently have a number of options, but that could change over the summer.

If Jack Wilshere and Aaron Ramsey don’t decide to sign new contracts to stay at the club, the team will lose a fair amount of creativity and attacking threat in the middle of the park.

Demirbay has a couple of goals and five assists this season, but like Uduokhai he’s now struggling with injuries. Since the turn of the year he’s torn his hamstring and an ankle ligament, meaning he’s only played 54 minutes in 2018.

The midfielders strengths are in his set-pieces, dribbling and long shots, according to analysis by WhoScored. He’s a very creative player, creating 1.8 chances per game in the Bundesliga and the Europa League.

Again, the question is just over whether he can stay fit between now and the end of the season.

Benjamin Pavard

• Position: Centre-Back
• Age: 22
• Current club: VfB Stuttgart
• Contract until: 2021
• Market value: £22.5m

Pavard joined Stuttgart from Lille in August 2016 and has been a regular member of their first team.

Arsenal have been watching the young defender for a while now with reports surfacing in January that the club were thinking of making a move when the window re-opens.

Stuttgart director of football Michael Reschke says any club thinking they can buy him for €30m “would be wrong” though, so they clearly don’t want to let him go without a fight.

Little wonder, given Pavard has started every single Bundesliga match this season for the club. That experience could convince Arsenal to make a move for the French international.

The 22-year-old’s strengths are his blocks and interceptions, but he’s also confident on the ball. He’s hard to shrug off in possession, and can play a pass as well.

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