PEPE IN THEIR STEP
Arsenal put SEVEN players up for sale including record transfer Pepe and Leno to fund Arteta’s summer spree
ARSENAL are aiming to offload SEVEN players to fund further spending in the transfer market this summer.
The Gunners have already handed boss Mikel Arteta £83million to spend on new recruits Gabriel Jesus, Fabio Vieira, Marquinhos and Matt Turner.
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Arteta and Co are determined to seal more signings, with Leicester star Youri Tielemans top of their list.
They are hoping to fund moves through player sales, but are struggling to find much interest.
Record signing Nicolas Pepe, as well as Bernd Leno, Hector Bellerin, Lucas Torreira, Pablo Mari, Ainsley Maitland-Niles and Reiss Nelson are all available for transfer but have so far failed to attract any serious offers.
Fulham have shown an interest in Leno, who could be swayed by the opportunity to stay in London by the newly-promoted side.
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Bellerin wanted to make his loan move to Real Betis permanent, but has returned to pre-season training with Arsenal.
Torreira's loan move to Fiorentina could not be made permanent after the Serie A side offered just £6m.
Meanwhile Mari spent last season at Udinese, while Maitland-Niles and Nelson enjoyed loan spells at Roma and Feyenoord respectively.
Arsenal have stepped up their interest in Youri Tielemans and are ready to make a firm offer for the Leicester midfielder.
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And they are confident of sealing a £30million deal for the 25-year-old Belgian international despite rival interest from Manchester United and Newcastle.
Arteta has turned to Tielemans after top target Ruben Neves was priced out of the market by Wolves’ £75million valuation of their Portuguese playmaker.
Arsenal have also explored the possibility of a bid for Lazio’s Sergej Malinkovic-Savic, but the Serbian international is two years older than Tielemans, has never played in the Premier League and would cost in excess of £50million.
Leicester are reluctant to lose Tielemans, but with only one year left on his contract the club have accepted they will have to cash in now rather than risk losing him as a free agent next summer.
Tielemans has made it clear that he is keen to become a major player in Arsenal’s rebuilding process despite the club missing out on Champions League qualification for a sixth consecutive season.
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Arteta is resigned to missing out on Leeds winger Raphinha despite tabling a £55million bid.
But the club are refusing to give up hope of signing Ajax centre-half Lisandro Martinez even though the Argentine international appears to be heading to Manchester United for £40million.
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