Arsenal keen on £68m Bayern Munich star as transfer problem arises

Arsenal continue to be linked with several big-name defenders ahead of the January transfer window. The Gunners are quite short of numbers at the back, with injuries to Jurrien Timber and Takehiro Tomiyasu leaving Mikel Arteta light in the defensive department.

That has seen the likes of Sporting CP duo Goncalo Inacio and Ousmane Diomande linked in recent times while The Athletic have now reported that Borussia Dortmund’s Nico Schlotterbeck is a long-term target. It is claimed that Arteta's coaching staff also admire Matthijs de Ligt of Bayern Munich, although both players' likely cost makes a move in January extremely unlikely.

football.london reported earlier this week that given their heavy spending in the summer, Arsenal are unlikely to have too much to spend in January, so loan deals with an option to buy could be preferable. As things stand though, unless such a deal presents itself, it would seem internal solutions are the more likely course of action for Arsenal.

The aforementioned De Ligt had once been mooted as the best young defender in Europe, although his progress has somewhat stalled in the last couple of years. The Dutch international signed for Bayern in the summer of 2022, joining from Juventus for a fee in the region of £68million.

Manchester City star Nathan Ake has previously revealed just why his compatriot is so highly rated, even comparing him to Liverpool hero Virgil van Dijk. “De Ligt is still so young but he has played so many games in top-flight football and for the Dutch national team,” Ake told Goal back in 2019.

“It's amazing what he is doing at the moment. When you go to a new country and a new club, especially a big club like Juventus, and you're 19-20 years old, it's going to be a change.