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Football London
Football London
Sport
Bailey Keogh

Edu challenged after two key Arsenal transfers put in doubt amid big money AC Milan takeover

Arsenal’s summer transfer window plans could be hampered by AC Milan amid the Serie A side's proposed ownership takeover. Reports have gone on to claim that the legendary club are set to spend heavily in the transfer market on targets that Arsenal are also looking to sign.

According to French news outlet RMC Sport, Investcorp are looking to conclude their deal to buy AC Milan. If a deal goes through, then the Rossoneri will have around £250m to spend on new players.

The Daily Mail have also gone on to report that Cristopher Nkunku and Renato Sanches are targets for the Serie A side in the summer. Both players have been heavily linked with Arsenal and would improve Mikel Arteta’s starting line-up.

READ MORE: Pep Guardiola exposes possible £59m Serie A transfer for Arsenal amid Nicolas Pepe crunch talks

Arsenal could be left short in midfield this summer, as football.london understands that Roma are expected to make a fresh attempt to sign Granit Xhaka at the end of the season. This will mean that Thomas Partey would be the only experienced midfielder on the team. Mohamed Elneny’s contract is set to expire at the end of the season, and Albert Sambi Lokonga and Charlie Patino are not yet ready to start regularly for a Premier League team.

According to French news outlet Jeunes Footeux, Sanches had emerged as the priority signing for Mikel Arteta in the summer in order to solve the midfield issues. The Lille midfielder currently has one of the best ball-carrying tendencies in Europe highlighting his confidence and bravery to turn defence into attack in a swift manner.

He also has elements of Aaron Ramsey in his game, in the way he is able to glide from one box to the other, and he is pretty impressive in front of goal to boot. There is an extra incentive to sign him because according to SportItalia, the French champions approached Sanches to offer him a new contract. However, the 24-year-old put talks on hold because he is ready for a new adventure.

And this adventure could be at Arsenal, which he confirmed himself as speaking to L’Equipe, Sanches said: “Maybe Milan and Arsenal are interested but I don’t know. I spoke with my agent, I know which clubs are calling me but I can’t say right now. But I know I’m ready. If an offer comes in, I’ll find out what’s best for me.”

However, an ideal transfer for the Portugal international has been put in doubt due to the heavy interest shown in him by AC Milan. And the same is true of Nkunku, who has been excellent for RB Leipzig this season. Nkunku would certainly be the answer to the striker problems, and it seems that Edu agrees as,according to French news outlet Foot Mercato, Arsenal are looking to sign him in the summer transfer window.

The Gunners were heavily linked to the Frenchman in the January window of 2019 when he was still a player at Paris Saint-Germain. Since Arsenal's failure to sign him, Nkunku has gone on to become of Europe's most attractive players, and it would make sense for Edu to register interest in him once again.

The 24-year-old has played in 43 games so far this season and has scored an impressive 30 goals alongside providing 18 assists in these games. Nine of these goal contributions had come from matches in the Champions League, showing that Nkunku can compete at an elite level. This also highlights that losing out on him to AC Milan would provide as a major blow.

Arsenal could be set to face a lot of competition for their desired transfer targets in the summer. This is why it is imperative that Arteta achieves Champions League football for next season as that will make north London a more attractive destination.

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