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Arsenal now eyeing move for Werder Bremen starlet Karim Coulibaly

By on April 13, 2026

Arsenal have joined the race to sign highly rated Werder Bremen centre-back Karim Coulibaly next summer, according to Ekrem Konur.

Progressing through Germany’s youth setup, Coulibaly featured for Bramfelder SV, HSV Barmbek-Uhlenhorst, and Hamburger SV before eventually stepping up from the academy at SV Werder Bremen.

During last summer’s pre-season, the 18-year-old was consistently involved with the senior side and later made his first-team debut as a late substitute in a defeat against Eintracht Frankfurt last August.

From that point on, his growth has continued, establishing himself—when available—as a regular presence in central defence for Bremen, starting 22 fixtures in their Bundesliga campaign.

Overall, it has been a difficult season for the club, who currently occupy 14th place and remain in a relegation battle, sitting just two points clear of the drop zone.

Despite that, Coulibaly has emerged as one of the key positives under head coach Daniel Thioun, completing 71.4% of his dribbles and recording an 86.4% success rate for passes, according to FOTMOB.

It appears his performances have not gone unnoticed, as Ekrem Konur claims that Coulibaly’s displays have caught the attention of several clubs across Europe, including Arsenal.

Prospect

The report adds that the Premier League leaders have now expressed interest in signing the 18-year-old centre-back to the Emirates Stadium in the summer.

With three years left on his contract, Bremen would be keen to recoup full value for their prized asset, and it’s no surprise that the journalist reports the Bundesliga club are demanding a fee between £32m and £43m after rejecting £17m offers in January.

However, Arsenal will have to battle with Premier League rivals Manchester United and Newcastle United as well as European giants including Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Juventus, Inter Milan and Borussia Dortmund in the race for the defensive prodigy, Konur adds.

Mikel Arteta has arguably the best defensive depth in the Premier League. Last summer, Christhian Mosquera and Piero Hincapié were signed to join an already existing defensive unit made up of William Saliba, Gabriel Magalhães, Riccardo Calafiori, Jurrien Timber, Ben White, and Myles Lewis-Skelly.

As such, while Coulibaly would be a great option for the club’s future, he likely won’t get regular playing time in the first team, especially since none of the current options are leaving soon.