Arsenal links to Eintracht Frankfurt defender Willian Pacho have already been shot down, less than 24 hours after they surfaced.

Sky Sport Germany reporter Florian Plettenberg wrote on Monday that Arsenal and Liverpool have Willian Pacho on their summer shortlists.

Plettenberg claimed Eintracht bosses have been informed of the interest, and they’re demanding €60m (£51.3m) for the player’s transfer.

Pacho has a contract until 2028, but Plettenberg suggested he’s one to watch in the summer window.

Yet Fabrizio Romano isn’t so sure. Romano reports in his Daily Briefing that he hasn’t heard anything concrete on Arsenal in relation to Pacho.

Many clubs are scouting the defender, but as it stands, it seems that’s as far as the story goes.

If word of Arsenal’s plan to sign Pacho had really already reached the ears of the Eintract Frankfurt hierarchy, you’d think there would be more sources ready to confirm the Gunners’ interest.

Arsenal probably will sign a defender this summer. The Gunners have struggled with a few injury problems at the back this season, and it would be foolish to expect them all to go away in 2024/25.

Takehiro Tomiyasu has consistently shown he’s only weeks away from another setback, Ben White played through part of this season with an injury, and ACL injuries like Jurrien Timber’s often carry the risk of further injuries in the future.

Even William Saliba, who has been a regular in the current campaign, hasn’t been entirely immune to injury absences in the past.

But it’s hard to say with any certainty who Arsenal might bring in as a backup at this stage.