Arsenal are weighing up moves for Chelsea’s Raheem Sterling or Bayern Munich’s Kingsley Coman having been approached about both in the final two days of the transfer window.
Sterling, who has been told he will not play under manager Enzo Maresca, would be keen on the move but any deal would require Chelsea settling part of his contract and wages.
Mikel Arteta wants an explosive player to give Arsenal more options in attack, but the top target of Nico Williams wants to stay in Spain to achieve his long-term ambition of eventually joining Barcelona.
The London club are consequently only willing to go for one of their secondary options, on a much lower budget, in the mould of Leandro Trossard’s signing.
Arteta does have a strong relationship with Sterling from their time together at Manchester City, he was assistant to Pep Guardiola.
However, the club is unwilling to pay a fee for Sterling, though, which is why any deal could be complicated and require the player to settle his contract issues with Chelsea.
He is understood to be on £325,000 a week at Stamford Bridge, and Arsenal would be unlikely to go above £150,000. Sterling would have to accept fitting into their wage structure.
Coman has, meanwhile, been offered around the major European clubs for weeks, as Bayern Munich attempt to trim their wage bill.
Arsenal have been weighing up a deal but there is a feeling that the market could open up in the final hours, due to the number of big clubs who want to sell.
Source: The Independent
