Arsenal have been told to make an offer of above £25 million if they hope to sign former Manchester United defender Jonny Evans from West Bromwich Albion
Arsenal will have to increase their offer to more than £25 million, if they wish to sign former Manchester United and current West Bromwich Albion centre-back Jonny Evans, according to reports from the Sun.
The Gunners have been in negotiations with the Baggies for a good part of two weeks in order to try and hash out a deal for Evans, but haven’t been able to make any serious progress.
It is understood that Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger sees the Manchester United academy graduate as the ideal man to come in and add some stability to his team’s defence that has been hardly convincing this season. And to that end, the North Londoners had made an offer of £25 million package for the Northern Irishman.
The former Manchester United man was a transfer target for league leaders Manchester City as well, who failed with a £30 million offer to sign him in the summer. While it was expected that Pep Guardiola might return for Evans in January, he has instead decided to bring Aymeric Laporte from Athletic Bilbao in a £57 million deal, leaving Arsenal as the only interested party to sign Evans.
EXCLUSIVE: What Arsenal need to do to land West Brom star Jonny Evanshttps://t.co/31xqZEkFCG pic.twitter.com/P0Ofr7T8YI
— The Sun Football ⚽ (@TheSunFootball) January 26, 2018
However, West Brom are under no pressure to sell Evans and will be happy to keep him at the club until the summer. As a result, they are holding out for a fee in the region of £27 million and are not willing to budge from their stance. But they are preparing for Evans’ possible departure, having already agreed terms to sign Egyptian defender Ali Gabr on loan till the end of the season.
Evans joined the Baggies back in the summer of 2015 from Manchester United and has grown into a solid performer over the past couple of seasons. Named the club captain at the start of the 2017/18 campaign, Evans has been one of the better performers for a struggling West Brom side who are languishing in the relegation zone this season. The 30-year old has made 21 Premier League appearances for the Midlands club, scoring two goals in the process.
Evans has spent his entire senior career in the Premier League and has notched up 228 appearances in the English top-flight. His volume of experience and the know-how of the league will be a huge benefit for Arsenal, who haven’t been all that solid at the back.
However, a deal to sign him will hinge on how Arsenal decide to structure the payment deal for Evans. It is believed that the Gunners prefer to make staggered payments over a course of time, but West Brom are keen on receiving a major chunk of the transfer fee upfront.
