Manchester United are joining Arsenal in the race for departing Borussia Dortmund defender Sokratis Papastathopoulos, according to reports in Germany.

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Sokratis is almost certainly on the way out this summer, after failing to agree a contract renewal to stay in Dortmund. The defender originally looked certain to end up at Arsenal. Reports immediately after the end of the season suggested a €20m transfer on a two-year deal was practically nailed on.

The German media are changing their tune now though. Sport1 claim Manchester United are trying to hijack the deal. Jose Mourinho reportedly picked up the phone to contract the defender personally, to convince him to join them instead.

Apparently, Tottenham Hotspur want £75m for Toby Alderweireld, which is making their Premier League rivals look elsewhere.

It certainly wouldn’t surprise me to learn that Mourinho is still trying to mess up Arsenal’s transfers. It would surprise me if they bought a 29-year-old defender from abroad though, when their defence has generally been solid enough.

They should be looking to the future, but Mourinho rarely seems to plan more than a year in advance.

We’ll see which club ends up winning the race for the Greek defender’s signature.

Arsenal may need to buy more than one defender this summer, so click ‘Next’ to see the other centre-backs the media are linking them to.

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