Arsenal are desperate to sign a new striker in the January transfer window after losing Gabriel Jesus to injury, but one of their previous targets has been ruled out
Arsenal have been issued with a hands-off warning by Aston Villa, who have no intention of selling Jhon Duran in the January transfer window.
The Gunners are desperate to sign a forward this month to bolster their misfiring attack, which has been further weakened by the serious knee injury suffered by Gabriel Jesus. The Brazilian is expected to be sidelined for a long time with a suspected anterior cruciate ligament problem, forcing Arsenal into the market for a replacement.
“We are actively looking to improve the squad,” Mikel Arteta confirmed on Tuesday. “We have been doing that since day one. We would be naive to not do that.”
Arsenal are keen on Athletic Bilbao winger Nico Williams and RB Leipzig striker Benjamin Sesko, but, as Mirror Football have reported, signing either is not straightforward. Williams has a £50million release clause at Athletic Bilbao and wants £300,000-a-week to leave, while Sesko might be difficult to lure mid-season.
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Duran is another striker Arsenal have previously been interested in, with reports emerging in November that they had a £46m offer rejected by Villa. The 21-year-old forward subsequently signed a new deal, keeping him at Villa Park until 2030, but the transfer links have not gone away.
Villa fielded interest from some 40 clubs over the summer and talkSPORT says that West Ham are the latest to be rejected. The Hammers reportedly offered £40m to sign Duran this month, but it would take an offer for £60m or more for Villa to even consider selling.
The Athletic goes even further, claiming they value the Colombian at £100m. Although he sometimes starts matches on the bench, with Unai Emery favouring Ollie Watkins in his one-striker 4-2-3-1 formation, Duran is highly regarded at the club and has shown his worth this season, contributing 12 goals in 26 appearances.
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Villa will be busy in January, nevertheless, having already sold Jaden Philogene to Ipswich for £22m in order to sign Donyell Malen from Borussia Dortmund for £21m. “We are in the transfer window and trying to do some movements,” Emery said on Tuesday.
“One of those is the possibility of signing Donyell Malen. In case he signs for us, it’s close, one player has to leave and the player close to leaving is Jaden Philogene.
“We are alert and we always want to be ready to improve our squad. Some players want to leave us and different circumstances as well. If we are changing the players, Malen for Jaden is the first. Maybe the possibility of two or three players leaving and we can do another deal until the last days of the transfer window.”
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