Dortmund willing to do January deal with Arsenal at buying price of midfielder
Borussia Dortmund are prepared to listen to offers, in January, of around €25m for Arsenal target Julian Brandt, claims a report.
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has admitted the club will be busy in the January window and they have already shipped out Saed Kolasinac and William Saliba on loan deals.
While clearing the decks is Arteta’s priority he is still in the market for a creative midfielder with Mesut Ozil on the sidelines. Ozil was not given a place in the Premier League or Europa League squad and his prospects do not look like changing in 2021.
That leaves Arteta with a creative hole to fill and Brandt has been one of the names linked with the Gunners.
Football.London report that Arsenal have sounded out the German club about signing Brandt permanently this month.
The 24-year-old has not delivered for Dortmund since arriving from Bayer Leverkusen for a fee of around £22.5m in May 2019.
The Germany international arrived with a big reputation, but he has scored just eight goals in 64 games and BVB are ready to cash in on the player.
The report claims Dortmund chief Michael Zorc will ask to recoup his money (£22.5m) for Brandt and that could be the cheapest option for Arteta.
Norwich City’s Emiliano Buendia is also understood to be a target, but the Canaries will demand a huge fee. Arsenal are reportedly keen to offer players in exchange, but Norwich are likely to drive a hard bargain with Buendia underpinning their promotion drive.
Zorc opens door for Brandt
Real Madrid star Isco is also a possibility, but the deal is understood to be a difficult one to nail down. The Spain star will also demand a huge salary, one that Arsenal may not be keen to match even on a loan deal.
That leaves Brandt as the most appealing option.
Zorc played down the talk over the weekend.
FootballLondon (citing Sport1) quoted Zorc as saying: “No one has contacted us, there is nothing on the table – and not even in the fax machine.
“That’s all I can say.”
However, Zorc more recently told SportBild, when asked about the midfielder: “My years of activity have taught me that I don’t rule anything out at the beginning of a transfer period.”
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