Arsenal and Chelsea could have the chance to sign Marcus Thuram on a free transfer this summer.
Both London rivals were linked with the French forward during the January window, along with fellow Premier League suitors Manchester United.
Barcelona have also been mentioned in connection with a possible swoop for Thuram, whose contract situation has been causing plenty of consternation at current club Borussia Monchengladbach.
The 25-year-old has been at Borussia-Park since moving from Guingamp in the summer of 2019, scoring 44 goals - including 16 so far this season - and registering 27 assists in 130 apperarances across all competitions.
However, long-running talks over a potential extension have not borne fruit, with there having been an expectation for some time now that Thuram would likely walk away for nothing in the summer along with Algerian defender Ramy Bensebaini.
Those worst fears have now been confirmed by Gladbach director Roland Virkus, who said: “Ramy Bensebaini and Marcus Thuram will leave the club as free agents in June.”
It remains to be seen if Arsenal or Chelsea will now be sufficiently tempted to revisit their interest in Thuram, with the Gunners having instead swooped for Brighton’s Leandro Trossard in January to boost their attacking firepower in the title race.
But further headline additions will be expected in the summer regardless of whether or not Mikel Arteta’s high-flying side manage to hold off the challenge of Manchester City between now and May.
Chelsea will also be expected to further splash the cash in the summer despite having spent more than £600million so far in just two windows under new owners Todd Boehly and Clearlake, following a wretched campaign that sees them sit 11th in the Premier League and fully 17 points adrift of the top four with only eight games left to play.
Whoever succeeds returning interim boss Frank Lampard in the dugout following the sacking of Graham Potter will have some significant reshaping to pull off, with a whole host of players also expected to move on with that huge transfer splurge leaving a notably bloated squad at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea bolstered their wide options in January with the additions of Mykhailo Mudryk - beating Arsenal to the punch - and Noni Madueke from Shakhtar Donetsk and PSV Eindhoven respectively, though neither player has made the desired impact in blue so far.
