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Arsenal plot late swoop to sign World Cup star, deal can be done at £26.9m

By on August 8, 2018

According to the Evening Standard, Arsenal are plotting a late swoop to sign centre-back Domagoj Vida and Besiktas are ready to do business if we put £26.9m on the table.

Unai Emery conducted the vast majority of his transfer business during the early stages of the window after splashing around £70m on five new signings with Bernd Leno, Sokratis, Stephan Lichtsteiner, Lucas Torreira and Matteo Guendouzi all arriving.

However, the boss has suggested he’s still in the market for further reinforcements during the final hours of the window and a centre-back has become a priority after Calum Chambers joined Fulham on a season long loan.

Vida has emerged as a prime target in recent weeks and the Evening Standard claim Arsenal have now approached Besiktas and been told a deal can be done if we meet their £26.9m asking price.

The newspaper says Vida is keen on the move to England but Arsenal are short of cash so we’ve offered Besiktas David Ospina and Danny Welbeck in exchange for the defender.

The Turkish giants are interested in Ospina but the Evening Standard says a possible £6m move will be negotiated separately as they want a straight cash deal for Vida’s signature.

It means Emery is going to have to raise extra funds if he wants to sign the 29-year-old and the likes of Lucas Perez, Joel Campbell and Carl Jenkinson are all reportedly available for transfer along with Welbeck and Ospina.

Time is running out to sell our deadwood and raise money for new signings but I’d personally be disappointed if Arsenal spend around £27m on Vida as I don’t think he’s much better than what we’ve already got in defence.

He was relatively unknown before starring at the World Cup with Croatia and only joined Besiktas for FREE from Dinamo Kiev in January so to spend £27m on him 8 months later seems ludicrous.

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I fear we’re just going after him off the back of his World Cup performances and at 29 he has little time left to develop further or have any potential sell-on value if things don’t work out.

I’d rather we kept Chambers and gave him a chance or bought a younger player such as Caglar Soyuncu. The Turkish international has been strongly linked this summer but unfortunately he appears set for a £20m move to Leicester.

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