Arsenal have stepped up their interest in Jerome Boateng and placed an official bid to Bayern Munich for the German World Cup winner, according to a report.
The Gunners were linked with Boateng last month with The Daily Star reporting the veteran Boateng was at the top of the shortlist. With Arsenal defence being penetrated more often than not, it’s time the Gunners invest on the backline.
Initial reports had suggested the Bundesliga champions needed a $15m (£12.75m) fee for Boateng, who earns a hefty $230,000 (£195,000) a week at the Allianz Arena.
But according to Bild, Bayern are prepared to waive the transfer fee should Arsenal consent to pick up Boateng’s contract at total; thus ensuring they prevent a costly pay-off for the 31-year-old prior Man City man.
And now Footmercato claim that Arsenal have contacted Bayern over a January move for the centre-back, whose expertise Mike Arteta hopes will fasten Arsenal’s leaky defence. Arteta can work wonders with the former Man City centre-back. Pep Guardiola improved Boateng to a large extent at his time at Bayern and now it’s time for Arteta to integrate him well to the Arsenal setup.
New Gunners manager Arteta has confessed that registering a new centre-half is now a top priority this month as soon as they lost Calum Chambers to a ruptured ACL. And with Boateng having no potential a deal could happen this month.
The origin claims the Bavarian club are demanding between $16m and $18m for the defender, who’s seen as an update on Sokratis Papastathopoulos and David Luiz.
Boateng has made just eight Bundesliga starts this season and last week Flick claimed the ball was in Boateng’s court.
“I get together with him and we speak openly,” he told Kicker. “Against Wolfsburg, he came into the side and also had some issues, but he showed he was able to play Bayern.
“Jerome has to make the decision about his future since it’s about his profession,” added Flick.
Considering everything, the 31-year-old German is at the fag end of his career and how much will he improve the Arsenal backline is a thing to ponder upon.
