Arsenal have completed a £30million deal for Granit Xhaka. The Gunners have been chasing for the midfielder for a while, and he has signed on a long-term contract. Speaking after the 23-year-old’s move, Arsene Wenger said: “Granit Xhaka is an exciting young player, already with good Champions League and Bundesliga experience. “We have been watching him for a long time now and he is a player who will add quality to our squad. “We wish Granit a good Euro 2016 with Switzerland and look forward to welcoming him to Arsenal ahead of next season.”
Jose Mourinho is desperate to pip Arsenal to the signing of Alvaro Morata, according to reports. The Portuguese is expected to be announced as Manchester United’s new manager this week. He is expected to go on a spending spree, as Express Sport understands he will be handed a £200m transfer kitty. Morata is thought to prefer a move to Arsenal, but according to the Daily Star, Mourinho has set his sights on the 23-year-old striker. The Gunners are said to have tabled a £51m bid for the Spaniard. Wenger faces competition to bring N’Golo Kante to the Emirates, according to reports. The French midfielder has attracted interest from the Gunners and United, even though the former just signed Granit Xhaka. But the Daily Mail claim that Paris Saint-Germain have expressed an interest in the £20m-rated Leicester star. Despite Kante preferring to stay in England, his request has fallen upon deaf ears with PSG aren’t giving up on him.
Wenger is keen on Napoli’s Senegal international Kalidou Koulibaly as he looks for a top-class centre-half. The Gunners have also identified Juventus forward Alvaro Morata as their No1 striker target this summer and are preparing to take their spending this close-season towards the £80m mark. Wenger has identified a midfielder, a centre-half – to be a first-choice partner to Laurent Koscielny – and goal-scorer as he looks to shake up a squad that finished second in 2015-16 but a distant 10 points behind champions Leicester.France-born Koulibaly, 24, has also been watched by Chelsea and Manchester United but would cost around £20m. Arsenal have also looked at Atletico Madrid’s French defender Lucas Hernandez as well as a raft of young players , such as Celtic left-back Kieran Tierney, Bolton defender Rob Holding and Fulham wing whizkid Ryan Sessegnon. They also want to relaunch a bid for teenage Argentine forward Maxi Romero of Velez Sarsfield.