David Ornstein says Arsenal want to sign former Man Utd man

Arsenal are interested in signing former Manchester United defender Daley Blind from Ajax, according to a report.

The Dutch club are preparing to offload more of their talent this summer after they were knocked out of the Champions League at the group stage in December.

According to David Ornstein’s column in The Athletic three or four more of Ajax’s key men are set to leave in the summer on the back of Hakim Ziyech joining Chelsea.

The Amsterdam giants reached the semi-final of the Champions League last season, beaten narrowly by Spurs before they lost star duo Frenkie de Jong and Matthijs de Ligt.

This summer they will lose Ziyech for £36.6million, while Arsenal are among those to have expressed interest in securing a deal for 29-year-old Blind.

Mikel Arteta is planning a summer overhaul at London Colney with Football.London reporting last week that as many as six players could be axed to fund new additions.

Arteta has already brought in defenders Cedric Soares and Pablo Mari from Flamengo, but he seems intent on remodelling his whole rearguard and Blind apparently fits the bill.

The former United midfielder, who left for £14million in July 2018, has since switched to being a reliable, ball-playing centre-back, just what Arteta is believed to be looking for.

Blind has featured 28 times for Ajax this season and is under contract until 2022, but he is also understood to have numerous other suitors.