Caglar Soyuncu has reportedly issued a “come get me” plea to Arsenal, with Unai Emery seeking to finalize a £35 million deal for the Freiburg defender.
According to a report published by The Sun, Caglar Soyuncu has shown his desire to join Arsenal and openly invited them to sign him. The Turkish international is one of Unai Emery’s top transfer targets this summer, with the Gunners now looking to finalize a £35 million deal with Freiburg for the defender.
Caglar Soyuncu joined SC Freiburg in the summer of 2016 and has quickly become a hot property in the transfer market. The 22-year-old has been impressive with Breisgau-Brasilianer, averaging 2.1 interceptions and 1.6 tackles per game, after making 30 appearances across all competitions last season.
His contributions were significant for Freiburg to survive another season in the Bundesliga as they managed to secure 15th spot in the league, well away from relegation. He is regarded to be one of the best young defenders in the German top-flight, and has rightly piqued the interest of several clubs in Europe, chief among which are Arsenal.
In fact, Unai Emery has been weighing up a £35 million bid for the services of the young Turkish international. If the Arsenal boss zeroes in on the transfer, Soyuncu would become his third summer signing, with the Gunners already signing Bernd Leno from Bayer Leverkusen and Stephan Lichtsteiner on a free transfer from Juventus.
While it’s likely that he will be slowly phased into the first-team setup, Soyuncu may eventually pair with Sokratis Papastathopoulos with Arsenal also reportedly pursuing a move for the Borussia Dortmund defender.
It is certain that the North London club is trying to bolster their central defensive options, with Per Mertesacker calling it a day and Laurent Koscielny ruled out till December after rupturing his achilles tendon. Additionally, Rob Holding has struggled to make an impression at the top level while Shkodran Mustafi has been highly inconsistent, which has forced Arsenal into the transfer market.
Furthermore, two weeks ago Soyuncu’s agent Mustafa Dogru confirmed that talks were taking place between Arsenal and the Bundesliga club as he said, “There are concrete talks, all that remains is for a fee to be agreed. We will see what happens next.”
Meanwhile, Soyuncu himself confirmed that he is eager to join Arsenal while also adding that he has declined various offers from different Turkish clubs to complete a move to the Premier League.
“I hope I go to Arsenal. I really want to play in the Premier League, but everything depends on the team. I have a contract [at Freiburg] for three more years. I received bids from some of the teams in Turkey. I would not be able to give the team a name, but I did not accept it.”
At present, it seems that Soyuncu is nearing a move away from Freiburg as his strong desire to be an Arsenal player is helping the Gunners negotiate with the Bundesliga club. It is likely that the transfer will be concluded soon in this month, as Emery wants to complete all his signings before the pre-season tour.
