Arsenal are reportedly interested in a move for young Manchester City central defender Jason Denayer.
Jason Grégory Marianne Denayer joined Manchester City in July 2013, signing his first professional contract with the Citizens after a successful trial. The central defender was rejected by Liverpool during the trials at Anfield, and City grabbed the Belgian by paying a reported €275,000 compensation to JMG academy.
The 21-year old is yet to make his debut for the Citizens having been loaned out to Scottish Champions Celtic and then to Turkish giants Galatasaray in the the 2014-15 and 2015-16 season respectively. Denayer made his senior international debut for Belgium on March 31, 2015 in a UEFA Euro 2016 Qualifying match in a 1-0 win over Israel. The central defender has since gone on to represent his nation 8 times and was a part of Belgium’s Euro 2016 campaign.
Denayer was also awarded the Scottish PFA Young Player of the Year for the 2014-15 season and featured regularly for Celtic on their way to win the Scottish Premiership. The central defender is highly rated by Manchester City’s backroom staff who consider him to be a future star for the club.
The Sun has claimed that Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger is eyeing a move for the 21-year old central defender. The Frenchman is reportedly on the market looking for a young and versatile defender who can play across the back four and believes that Denayer fits the bill perfectly. The report states that the defender was tracked by the Londoners over the last couple of years and they have finally decided to make a move for the Belgian with the youngster reportedly keen to move away from Etihad in search of regular first-team football.
The report has stated that a source from within Manchester City said,“Denayer signed a new contract last summer. He is rated at about £15m at the club and is on around £25,000-a-week. Arsenal have been interested before just over a year ago but only bid £5m. There was no follow-up offer at the time, but Wenger is a fan.”
The central defender is widely seen as a future European star and Wenger could be looking to sign the youngster as a long-term replacement for Per Mertesacker. The player reportedly wants first-team action and with Manchester City reportedly close to signing Leonardo Bonucci from Juventus, the 21-year old is more likely to be pushed further back in the pecking order at Etihad. City are said to value Denayer at around £15m and Wenger could be prepared to shelve out the cash to secure the player’s services ahead of the coming season.
