Arsenal: 3 striker targets in January transfer window

The January transfer window. A time filled with promise but often left leaving plenty to be desired. Arsenal will get linked with half of Europe and then sign a 17-year-old from the French third division.

But it isn’t always like that. The most expensive signing in the club’s history was made during the winter window, one Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. He’s since been usurped in the spending table, but it’s his name on everyone’s lips almost four years later.

Left to train away from the squad having been stripped of the captaincy, not only is he exploring his options during the coming window, the club are also keeping their eyes peeled for any potential suitors as they seek solutions to a growing issue.

And he isn’t the sole contributor in that. Everything about the striking department at Arsenal is under investigation during January with the four primary options at the club all facing futures away from north London.

Arsenal: 3 striker targets in January transfer window being linked with Mikel Arteta’s side amid growing issue with Aubameyang and Nketiah

Folarin Balogun will leave on loan, Alexandre Lacazette has just six months left to run on his deal and Eddie Nketiah continues to shun Mikel Arteta’s advances on a contract extension in search of pastures new.

While all four aren’t going to be heading off mid-season, the growing speculation over who will eventually come through the doors as the new certified centre-forward is being ramped up amid the ongoing uncertainty.

Arsenal have been linked with a plethora of strikers in recent months, initially with an eye on a summer deal. But things change fast in football and it can never be ruled out that fans might see activity across a busy month on and off the pitch.

The rumour mill continues to cough up a few names, some that may already be familiar to supporters, with all the latest updates on these striker targets summed up below. Ranging from the possible to the implausible, here’s what we know.

1. Dusan Vlahovic – Fiorentina

Age: 21
Rumoured fee: £70m+
Contract expiry: 2023

There is no escaping this rumour.

So, what did we know? Well, the general consensus is that Arsenal are extremely keen on signing the Serbian striker either in January or the summer, just that none of that is being reciprocated from his side. It went as far as reports claiming the player’s agents wouldn’t even pick up the phone when Arsenal rang.

His eye-watering transfer fee is an unavoidable obstacle, yet the latest from Gazzetta dello Sport (via SportWitness) states that the Gunners are ‘ready to pay’ the €80m fee ‘immediately’.

This is being peddled endlessly across Italy. Thoughts are immediately drawn back to the Manuel Locatelli saga from the summer where Arsenal were said to have their money on the table waiting to be accepted only for all other members of the transaction – the important ones – not willing to oblige.

Locatelli eventually moved to Juventus and the same club are said to be in the mix for Vlahovic. Furthermore, it’s a move he is said to be open to. In either case, the majority of reporting on this rumoured deal states that Fiorentina and the 21-year-old would rather see the season out and then arrange a means of departure.

How long with Arsenal continue to be linked?

Verdict: Serie A move (probably Juventus) feels inevitable

Continued on next page…