Arsenal in talks over sale of £35.5m defensive duo, claims Ornstein
Arsenal are looking to offload Shkodran Mustafi and Laurent Koscielny before the transfer deadline shuts, according to David Ornstein.
The respected BBC Sport reporter, who broke the news over the weekend that Arsenal had agreed a deal to sign Nicolas Pepe, says Unai Emery’s side are keen to claw back some of their transfer deficit by offloading the unwanted defenders before the window slams shut.
Reports in L’Equipe on Monday claimed Monaco have approached the Gunners over a swoop for the Germany defender – with the Gunners reportedly informing the Ligue 1 giants of their £27.5m asking price for the former Valencia centre-half.
And Ornstein confirmed on Tuesday that Arsenal are “in talks with number of clubs” over the possible departure of Mustafi.
The 27-year-old has two years left on his current contract and the Gunners “want permanent or loan departure”.
Arsenal in talks with number of clubs over Shkodran Mustafi exit. 27yo (contract until 2021) wants to stay + prove himself. But #AFC want permanent or loan departure. Also hope to bolster central defence pre-deadline & retain interest in Celtic left-back Kieran Tierney #CelticFC
— David Ornstein (@bbcsport_david) July 30, 2019
In addition, Ornstein also claims the Gunners are well on their way to offloading unsettled club captain Laurent Koscielny, with the long-serving defender recently refusing to travel to the USA on the club’s pre-season tour in a bid to force through a transfer.
He claims the veteran defender was the subject of talks between the club’s technical director Edu and officials from Stade Rennes as they look to reach an agreement over the defender which could be as high as £8million.
Arsenal technical director Edu met with the Stade Rennes president + the representative of Laurent Koscielny in London yesterday. Talks between #AFC & suitors continue in a bid to resolve Koscielny’s future. The 33yo captain does not anticipate playing for the Gunners again #SRFC
— David Ornstein (@bbcsport_david) July 30, 2019
Get the latest personalised Arsenal products on our new TEAMtalk Gunners shop!