A report in today’s Gazetta dello Sport claims that Carlo Ancelotti and Napoli want Petr Cech on loan for the season and with Arsenal set to sign Brend Leno, they think the have a great chance of puling the move off.

SYDNEY, NEW SOUTH WALES - JULY 11:  Arsenal goalkeeper Petr Cech attends a press conference at the Museum Of Contemporary Arts on July 11, 2017 in Sydney, New South Wales.  (Photo by Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)
(Photo by Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)

Cech is entering into his final year at Arsenal and there is no doubting that the great keeper’s talents are well on the wane.

With David Ospina likely to leave this summer and the club already getting rid of their goalkeeping coach and three young keepers, it seems like Arsenal have finally realised the goalkeeping position is one that has been causing problems for a number of years.

Leno should end the summer as an Arsenal player and it is unlikely he is coming to the club to play back-up to an ageing Cech.

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Gazetta dello Sport, 16 June 2018

Ospina, meanwhile, has been looking for the exit door since he arrived but it’s hard to see Arsenal allowing both players to leave.

GdS write, “Accordingly, Napoli is moving, surprising, for an international profile like the one of Petr Cech, [who played at] Chelsea with Ancelotti. The Czech goalkeeper is likely to be shut out of the Arsenal [team] by the arrival of Leno, and therefore could – at least for a season – return very useful to Ancelotti. He is 36 years old but is healthy, has played this year as a starter with the Gunners in the Premier League and has a  contract expiring in 2019.

“Cech, then, could arrive on loan with Napoli called to be like him, only the salary [is a problem] (still high but not as much as that of Keylor Navas, for another under contract with Madrid until 2020).”

Bernd Leno’s release clause with Bayer Leverkusen expired at the end of May, but the Bundesliga club won’t ask for more, according to reports in Germany.

Bernd Leno Bayer GK Lukas SchulzeBongartsGetty Images
Bayer Leverkusen Bernd Leno.

German outlet Kicker write that Leno’s €25m release clause was only valid until the end of May, so it’s no longer possible for Arsenal to activate it and get a deal done quickly. That could make negotiations rather precarious, with Leverkusen within their rights to hold out for the highest bidder, rather than letting the Gunners get it over the line.

Kicker don’t think that will be the case though. They claim the transfer fee “will not increase” compared to the €25m mark. They also write that Napoli play “no role in the future decision of Leno”.

It’s all down to Arsenal now, and Kicker think the 26-year-old would be keen to join Unai Emery’s side. He wants a European club with major media exposure, so he can get back on the radar of the German national team.

Ospina, meanwhile, has been linked with a number of clubs over the past few years, most of them in Turkey. Now, however, the Daily Mail, claim that Mexican side, Tigres, are in the hunt for his signature.

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Daily Mail 14 June 2018

Ospina arrived at Arsenal after the last World Cup and it is a surprise he’s stayed so long given how often he’s spoken about leaving to find first team football.

ospina
Bricks for hands

Hopefully this will be the summer when he finally keeps his word.