Arsenal are reportedly targeting RB Leipzig defender Ibrahima Konate, as Mikel Arteta looks to rebuild his defence in the summer transfer window.
According to a report from London Evening Standard, Arsenal are one of the clubs monitoring Ibrahima Konate from RB Leipzig as they look to add a new centre-back to improve their defence for the upcoming season.
Arsenal have been disappointing this season and currently tenth in the Premier League table, with their chances of qualifying for the UEFA Champions League looking increasingly bleak. Mikel Arteta is on the lookout for a central defender to partner Gabriel Magalhaes as both David Luiz and Rob Holding have not been consistent enough.
The Gunners offloaded Shkodran Mustafi and Sokratis Papastathoupoulos in the January transfer window and it is likely that more defenders could leave in the summer. David Luiz will be out of contract in the summer; Konstantinos Mavrapanos could be sold to a club in Germany after his successful loan spell at Stuttgart and Calum Chambers is likely to leave at the end of the season as he continues to struggle for regular game-time.
William Saliba, currently on loan at Nice, will return in the summer. However, Arteta will want to provide the Frenchman with tough competition for the right centre-back role. The Arsenal manager confirmed that the club have already got plans ready for the summer transfer window and a lot of it will depend on how well they finish the current season. Reaching Champions league will be crucial, as they will benefit from the added finances the competition provides.
Arsenal will also have to make a decision on Matteo Guendouzi and Lucas Torreira as they return from their loan spells at Hertha Berlin and Atletico Madrid, respectively. Both players are out of Arteta’s plans and the club will look to cash in on them in order to create finances for the other important positions in the team.
The Gunners have been closely monitoring Konate, who has shown great form for RB Leipzig this season as they look to win the Bundesliga this season. The German club will not let their star defender go for cheap and the other top clubs’ interest in the Frenchman’s signature will only lead to an increase in the transfer fee.
Arsenal were interested in signing Konate’s teammate Dayot Upamecano in the previous transfer window but were priced out of a move for the French defender, who has an agreement to join Bayern Munich. It remains to be seen if Arsenal succeed in their pursuit of Konate in the upcoming transfer window, as they look to bolster their defence.