Arsenal have Eintracht Frankfurt defender Nathaniel Brown on their summer shortlist, but they’re far from the only top club in the race, according to a report.
Johannes Wolf reports for Bild that Arsenal are one of the names on a shortlist of clubs Nathaniel Brown could join this summer, though it’s a star-studded list.
FC Barcelona and Manchester City are reportedly keeping a close eye on the player, constantly seeking updates on him, whilst Liverpool and Real Madrid are also in the mix, with the race “wide open”.
Bild do at least confirm that a transfer for Brown is highly likely this summer. The player isn’t causing any trouble behind the scenes, but like Hugo Ekitike last summer, the belief is that the number of clubs chasing him is too large to expect him to stay.
Bild claim the price tag for Brown’s signing is around €65m (£56.8m), and the club’s sporting director Markus Krosche wants to make him the most expensive pure left-back in history, surpassing the €65.3m Chelsea paid for Marc Cucurella.
CaughtOffside report that sources close to the agent industry claim Frankfurt are bracing for formal approaches for Brown, adding Manchester United, Bayern Munich, and Tottenham Hotspur to the list of clubs tracking the player, and reiterating that Arsenal are interested.
According to CaughtOffside, United and Arsenal are the clubs leading the way at the moment.
Brown made his debut for the German national team in October, and reports of Arsenal interest in him emerged around the same time. It’s certainly not surprising that a young player debuting for a major national team like Germany would start to draw attention from the big clubs.
It seems the Gunners’ admiration hasn’t faded over the four months since then, with Brown now at 31 appearances, three goals, and six assists for the season with Frankfurt.