Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain are interested in signing Jerome Boateng from Bayern Munich, according to reports in Germany.
Kicker claim that the two clubs both want to lure the German centre-back away from his current club, and Bayern are already preparing a move for Benjamin Pavard as a replacement. Christian Falk of Sport Bild adds that Manchester United have also contacted the Bundesliga club over Boateng.
With Calum Chambers seemingly on the way out on loan, you’d hope Arsenal had a plan to bring in a new centre-back. If they don’t, it seems bizarre to loan him out at all. Chambers is one of the strongest options the club have, based on what we’ve seen in pre-season.
On the other hand, if Manchester United and PSG are Arsenal’s competitors for the signing, it’s not a race you’d put much faith in the Gunners to win. United and PSG have seemingly endless cash supplies, and Jose Mourinho would probably drain his club’s resources dry just to stop Arsenal making a signing.
The fee quoted is around €50m, so the other question is whether that’s even worth paying for Boateng at this point. He’s out of form and having fairly regular problems with injuries, which are unlikely to improve now he’s a month away from his thirties.
Given Arsenal’s current options at the back though, there’s no way we should turn our noses up at a defender proven at every top level.