Arsenal are ready to join Liverpool in the pursuit of Thiago Alcantara, though Bayern Munich must lower their asking fee of £27 million.
In yet another bizarre transfer story, Arsenal, it seems are ready to join the race to sign Thiago Alcantara, according to a report from Daily Mail, as relayed by Express. The Bayern Munich midfielder is tipped to leave Bavaria, with his current contract set to come to an end next summer.
Thiago has been heavily linked with a move to Liverpool over the course of past few weeks, with Jurgen Klopp himself excited to have him at his disposal. Speculations further suggest that the midfielder has even agreed personal terms with Liverpool. But, both the clubs are yet to reach an agreement regarding the transfer fee.
It has now put Arsenal on red alert, with the north London side reportedly ready to make a bid. However, Bayern Munich’s £27 million asking fee for the midfielder is turning out to be problematic even for them. And the camp fears that they will not be able to make a bid if the Bavarians don’t lower their price-tag for Thiago.
It makes little sense given the fact that Arsenal were reportedly mulling over a bid for €50 million-rated Thomas Partey. While the Atletico Madrid star is a completely different player when compared to Thiago, it goes without saying that the Gunners will surely be able to come up with the £27 million in order to sign Thiago.
They may, however, be forced to offload some of their unwanted stars including Matteo Guendouzi. In fact, the club has already slapped a £40 million price-tag on the Frenchman, who has fallen out with Mikel Arteta and the coaching staff. His potential departure could go a long way in boosting Arsenal’s finances.
That being said, pursuing Thiago could prove to be rather futile for an Arsenal side who cannot offer Champions League football to the Bayern Munich star next season. It could be a massive deal-breaker, assuming that the Spaniard will have Champions League football on the top of his wishlist, should he move to England.
For Liverpool, it seems only a matter of time before they get the green light from the board to go all out for the Bayern Munich star, who is unlikely to have any future left with the Bavarians, despite playing a key role in the club’s sensational Champions League campaign this season.
It will be interesting to see how this transfer saga takes shape within the coming weeks.
