AC Milan have reportedly joined the race to sign Laurent Koscielny, and are set to battle Marseille in pursuit of the Arsenal defender in the summer
According to a report in the Daily Mirror, Laurent Koscielny is the subject of interest from AC Milan, who are set to make a move for the Arsenal defender in the summer transfer window. Ligue 1 outfit Marseille are also interested in signing the French centre-back.
Koscielny joined Arsenal from Lorient in an £8.45 million deal in the summer of 2010. The start to life at the Emirates was slow for the player as he was sent off on his competitive debut for the Gunners. Since then though, he has developed into a solid defender who is regarded as one of the best centre-backs in the world.
A rock solid presence at the back, Koscielny has been an instrumental figure for Arsenal in the last seven seasons. And while 2016/17 was a disastrous season for Arsenal as they finished 5th in the Premier League and bowed out of the Champions League in the Round of 16, the France international was one of the shining lights.
AC Milan are interested in signing Arsenal’s 31-year-old France defender Laurent Koscielny.
— Leonard Nwaorgu (@lenad4real) June 28, 2017
Koscielny made 43 appearances in all competitions for the North London club and was a reliable presence at the back for the most part. While the player is going from strength to strength for Arsenal, he is attracting interest from clubs across Europe that are in desperate need of defensive strengthening.
Marseille and AC Milan are two clubs that are expressing a lot of interest in signing Koscielny in the summer, and are set to go head-to-head in pursuit of the 31-year-old.
Marseille missed out on qualifying for the Champions League for the forthcoming season after finishing 5th in Ligue 1 in 2016/17. Rudi Garcia is, thus, keen to make reinforcements to his squad in the summer transfer window in order to make the Top 3 next season.
And Koscielny’s addition will strengthen his side’s defence considerably, thereby creating a solid base for Marseille to improve on their efforts in the recently concluded season. But, the French club face stiff competition for the player’s services from AC Milan, who are eager to sign him as well.
The Serie A club have recently been bought by a wealthy group of Chinese owners, who are willing to invest heavily in order to oversee a return back to the top of Italian football. In fact, the Rossoneri have already secured the services of Mateo Mussachio, Ricardo Rodriguez, Franck Kessie and Andre Silva and are set to invest further in the transfer window.
Milan are now further looking to bolster their back-line with the addition of Koscielny, who would add a lot of steel to the side’s defence, although Vincenzo Montella also has the talented Alessio Romagnoli at his disposal at San Siro.
However, it is highly likely that the two clubs will have to look elsewhere in search of a defensive reinforcement in the summer as Koscielny only recently signed a new deal with Arsenal and has, time and again, insisted that he is not leaving Arsenal any time soon.
Having said that, it remains to be seen if the player chooses a move to Marseille after previously confessing that he is a boyhood fan of the club.
