Arsenal to sanction €100m Real Madrid raid if second midfield deal fails, with Rice, Odegaard to form world-beating threesome

Arsenal will push to sign a Real Madrid superstar if moves for Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia come to nothing, according to a report.

The Gunners are spending big this summer, with deals for Jurrien Timber (£40.5m), Declan Rice (£105m) and Kai Havertz (£65m) either completed or partially agreed.

However, with Granit Xhaka poised to join Bayer Leverkusen in a £13m deal and Arsenal listening to offers for Thomas Partey, a second arrival in midfield is wanted.

To that end, Brighton’s Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia of Southampton have been linked.

Caicedo is likely to cost upwards of £80m and per Fabrizio Romano, Chelsea are poised to “attack” the deal. What’s more, personal terms between the Blues and Caicedo will “not be an issue”.

Lavia, meanwhile, has been the subject of talks over a move to north London. Indeed, Football Insider claimed the Belgium international has ‘verbally agreed’ to join the Gunners.

Lavia is valued around the £50m mark which may prove troublesome for Arsenal. While the size of the number isn’t an issue in itself, there may be concerns over whether Lavia warrants such a high fee given he only has one full season of first-team football on his CV.

As such, online outlet Football Transfers bring news of Arsenal eyeing a more established midfielder in the form of Aurelien Tchouameni.

Tchouameni could complete dominant midfield threesome

The France international, 23, is among the world’s leading holding midfielders. Tchouameni was a €100m (including add-ons) arrival from Monaco last summer after Real Madrid fended off strong interest from Liverpool.

However, with Toni Kroos and Luka Modric signing new deals, Jude Bellingham arriving from Borussia Dortmund and  Federico Valverde and Eduardo Camavinga in the mix, Tchouameni could see his minutes cut.

Football Transfers state Arsenal are sensing an opportunity and have added Tchouameni to their list of targets.

Lavia and to a lesser extent Caicedo will be pursued first. But if neither can be signed, it’s reportedly Tchouameni who Arsenal will ‘test the waters’ for.

In the event Arsenal were able to land Tchouameni, their starting midfield three would be set in stone for the better part of the next decade.

Assuming Rice’s move from West Ham doesn’t collapse in the eleventh hour, the England ace could form a dominant midfield triumvirate with Tchouameni and Martin Odegaard.

Rice and Odegaard are both 24, while Tchouameni is a year younger at 23. All three players are already among the world’s best in their roles and given their ages, the best may still be to come.

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