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Arsenal ready to launch move for £52m-rated Serbian attacker – report

By mac14 on February 5, 2018

According to a report by TeamTalk, Arsenal are readying a summer swoop for Benfica’s £52m-rated winger Anrija Zivkovic as Arsene Wenger continues to overhaul his squad.

The boss brought-in Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in January while the likes of Alexis Sanchez, Theo Walcott, Olivier Giroud and Francis Coquelin all left the club.

We can expect plenty of transfer activity in the summer as Raul Sanllehi starts to influence things following his appointment as Director of Football this month.

While fans like me are desperate to see a new goalkeeper, centre-back and central midfielder come to Arsenal this summer it seems we’re also looking to further strengthen our options in attack.

TeamTalk are citing a report from O Jogo that says Arsenal have been showing a keen interest in Zivkovic in recent months with scouts watching the exciting winger on several occasions.

The Portuguese outlet claims Wenger is ready to launch a swoop for the 21-year-old this summer despite Zivkovic having a hefty £52.5m release clause written in to his contract.

No doubt Arsenal will look to bring that price down but Benfica are under no pressure to cash-in as the Serbian international is contracted to the club until 2021.

Zivkovic moved to Benfica on a free transfer from Partizan Belgrade in 2016 and he’s now an established part off their squad having made 17 appearances in all competitions so far this season.

The youngster has also represented the Serbian senior national team 7 times since making his debut aged just 17 so he looks to have a bright future ahead of him.

I can’t see Wenger paying anywhere near £52m for him but I’m sure Benfica will do a deal as they are known to sell their key assets if the money is right.

Zivkovic is predominantly a right winger but he can play anywhere across the attacking positions so he’d be a useful member of the squad if we manage to lure him to the Emirates this summer.