Transfer insider Dean Jones has claimed that Arsenal are ‘very interested’ in signing Dutch-Nigerian striker Joshua Zirkzee who has been in impressive form for Bologna this season.
The 22-year-old has been one of the stand-out players for Thiago Motta’s side and has reportedly caught the attention of clubs within and outside the Italian topflight, one of which is Arsenal.
The Premier League giants want to sign a new striker in the summer and have been linked with Victor Osimhen but with the huge release clause of the Napoli striker, they are exploring cheaper alternatives.
Zirkzee will reportedly cost £45m which is much lesser than Osimhen’s valuation and pursuing a deal for the former could help the Gunners invest in other departments of the team.
Jones has reiterated that the Gunners want to sign the Super Eagles-eligible striker as he represents a cheaper alternative to their other transfer targets.
“Arsenal continue to monitor Zirkzee and watched him at the weekend and this is a moment to start taking this interest very seriously,” he said.
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“I believe it will still be tricky to get him to England; there is interest in him from Italian clubs that is going to prove tempting for him, but Arsenal are obviously very interested and at £45million we’re talking about a player that is half the price of someone like Gyokeres.
“The likes of Isak from Newcastle or Watkins from Villa are going to demand a big fee too if they were to go that route, so maybe we are getting an idea of where Arsenal are truly likely to spend in terms of fees and level of player in terms of how closely they seem to be looking at Zirkzee.”
The challenge facing Arsenal now is how to persuade Zirkzee to move to England, particularly after a successful season in the Serie A.
