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Arsenal eye Dortmund defender Sokratis Papastathopoulos

North London giants Arsenal are reportedly planning a summer move for Borussia Dortmund defender Sokratis Papastathopoulos.

Sokratis

Bengaluru, April 8: North London giants Arsenal are reportedly planning a summer move for Borussia Dortmund defender Sokratis Papastathopoulos.

Arsene Wenger is certain to be in the market for at least one centre-half at the end of the season, and the Greek International fits the bill according to Italian media outlet Gazzetta dello Sport.

However, the Gunners are likely to face some stiff competition to land the 29-year-old, with Manchester United, Juventus and Chelsea all believed to be interested.

Papastathopoulos, rated at about £25million, joined Dortmund in 2013 when now-Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp was in charge.

Since then he has become one of the Bundesliga club's most reliable players and has had interest from a number of clubs. He has made 192 appearances for Dortmund and has become one of their first names on the team sheet.

Papastathopoulos reportedly wants to leave the German club in January to try and win more trophies. He is under contract until 2019 and Dortmund will know they could cash in during the summer.

Arsenal centre-half Per Mertesacker is expected to retire in the summer to take up a coaching role at the club.

Speaking last summer about the opportunity to move into the backroom staff at the Emirates, Mertesacker said: "This is the start of an exciting new chapter for me and I am delighted that I will be able to stay part of the Arsenal family."

With former Borussia Dortmund head of recruitment Sven Mislintat in charge of Arsenal right now, Arsenal have been linked with a host of players from Bundesliga.

They signed Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang from Dortmund in the January transfer window and now looking to make another raid on Dortmund who are not having the best of seasons.

Arsenal also have a situation in their hands regarding the future of Arsene Wenger and must win the Europa League to secure a Champions League place next season and their transfer activity could depend a lot on what happens at the North London club before the next transfer window.

Story first published: Sunday, April 8, 2018, 18:32 [IST]
Other articles published on Apr 8, 2018