AC Milan ‘working intensively’ to sign £20m Arsenal star in January; Mikel Arteta ‘loves’ him

Serie A giants side AC Milan are reportedly poised to make a move to sign Arsenal centre-back Jakub Kiwior in the January transfer window. 

The Gunners signed the talented 23-year-old for £20m from Spezia last January, but he has played sporadically for the North London club so far.

Kiwior has featured 10 times in all competitions so far this season, but the majority of these have been cameo appearances off the bench.

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta seems set on his centre-back pairing of Gabriel Magalhaes and William Saliba, so it’s unlikely Kiwior will break that partnership anytime soon.

The Poland international can also play as a left-back, but Oleksandr Zinchenko is one of the Gunners’ most important players in that position.

Kiwior certainly has bags of potential. Indeed, Arteta has previously described him as “a player he loves.”

However, to reach that potential he needs to play games, so a move away from the Emirates in January could be the best thing for his development.

READ MORE: Arsenal news: Kai Havertz backed ahead of Man Utd star pundit has ‘not seen’ since World Cup

AC Milan line up loan move for Kiwior

According to Italian outlet Calciomercato, AC Milan are ‘keen on bringing Kiwior back to Serie A,’ with the club keeping close tabs on the defender ‘for the past few weeks.’

AC Milan are currently without Pierre Kalulu, Mattia Caldara, Malick Thiaw, Simon Kjær and Marco Pellegrino due to injuries.

As a result, manager Stefan Piolo is looking to bring in two new centre-backs in the January transfer window.

The report claims that Kiwior is ‘the first name on Piolo’s shortlist’ and AC Milan will make a ‘concrete attempt’ to sign him this winter.

Calciomercato add that Milan technical director Geoffrey Moncada and sporting director Antonio D’Ottavio have been ‘working intensely for a few days’ to try to sign him ‘on a loan deal with an option to buy.’

As things stand, Arsenal are reluctant to let Kiwior leave. Nevertheless, ‘discussions will continue’ over the next few weeks about a potential deal.

Kiwior played his best football in Serie A with Spezia, so a return to Italy on loan could be exactly what the defender needs to get his career back on track.

With that in mind, it will be interesting to see if AC Milan are successful in their attempts to lure the defender away from the Emirates this winter.

DON’T MISS: Arsenal make massive decision on Jorginho future that could dictate January transfer window business