Arsenal have been given yet another incentive to complete a deal for Dusan Vlahovic in January following news of Barcelona's interest in the Fiorentina striker.
According to SPORT, the Catalan side are preparing to target Vlahovic if they fail in their attempts to sign Erling Haaland from Borussia Dortmund.
The Gunners are in desperate need of striker reinforcements and have been heavily linked with a move for the Serbia international, with Mikel Arteta understood to be in pole position to secure his services.
The mid-season window is a notoriously difficult time to conduct solid transfer business, but news of Barca's interest has now given the Gunners extra motivation to ensure they sign Vlahovic over the coming weeks instead of waiting until the end of the season.
Football.london understand Arsenal are pushing hard to complete a deal for the Fiorentina striker, with a January move their preferred option.
The Daily Mail recently reported that the club must be willing to shell out a deal worth a total of £150 million if they want to complete a move, with the figures involved seemingly the main sticking point in the switch.
Not only are Fiorentina demanding nearly £60m as well as Vlahovic reportedly holding out for wages of £300,00-per-week, Italian journalist Gianluca Di Marzio has claimed the Gunners will need to pay an £8.3m commission fee to the player’s agent.
While Arsenal will no doubt be hesitant to pay such an eye-watering sum of money, the club may have no option given their need to sign a striker and Barcelona's mooted interest.
By the time summer arrives, the Gunners could be without a recognised senior forward in the squad, as Eddie Nketiah and Alexandre Lacazette's respective deals tick towards their expiry.
Folarin Balogun will likely have returned from his loan spell at Middlesbrough, though with just two Premier League appearances to his name, Arteta will know it would be foolish to rely on the youngster for a consistent source of goals.
Of course, former club captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is still at the club, but his future is also in doubt after Arteta banished him from the matchday squad.
Arteta is evidently keen not to miss the opportunity to strengthen his side this month, admitting recently: “I think with the number of things and the way we want to evolve the squad, we have to maximise every window in many different ways and we are alert.”
The Spaniard’s hand could now be forced in terms of completing a deal for Vlahovic as Arsenal look to avoid their main transfer target being snatched from under their nose by Barcelona in the summer.
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