Arsenal are one of the clubs in for Lille midfielder Boubakary Soumare, with his current side ‘very open’ to selling this month.

FBL FRA LIGUE1 LYON LILLE 1578317039
Lille’s French midfielder Boubakary Soumare (L) fights for the ball with Lyon’s French midfielder Jeff Reine-Adelaide (R). French L1 football match between Lyon (OL) and Lille (LOSC) at the Groupama stadium in Decines-Charpieu on December 3, 2019. (Photo by JEAN-PHILIPPE KSIAZEK / AFP)

Mohamed Bouhafsi of RMC Sport claims (via GFFN) Lille are ‘very open’ to selling this month. Arsenal, Manchester United, Chelsea, Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid are all in the race for Soumare. Eurosport claim Tottenham Hotspur are as well.

Wolves put in a €40m bid for Soumare over the summer, but verbal offers are as high as €50m now. Clearly, the player isn’t going to come cheap.

Soumare wants to stay with Lille until the end of the season, but the board could push for a quick decision. They want to nail down their midfield as soon as possible and Soumare’s departure for a big fee would help.

Even if the fee is high, followers of Ligue 1 rate Soumare highly. Arsenal could do with a defensive midfielder with the mix of technical ability and physicality he has.

Bleacher Report also hinted at Arsenal interest in the player last week. There’s no doubt they’re aware of him, given he plays for the same club Nicolas Pepe left in the summer. Maybe the winger even put in a good word for his old teammate.

There’s still a long way to go before a deal is close though. Deadline day is three weeks away, so we can all still drag the saga out a bit more.