Barcelona star made available for €40m+ and it represents huge transfer opportunity for Arsenal – opinion
Barcelona defender Jules Kounde is reportedly set to be made available for transfer as his club do what they can to keep hold of Ronald Araujo in their defence.
Araujo has been linked with Bayern Munich, and it seems Barca are eager to keep hold of the Uruguay international, but it could mean that Kounde is allowed to move on for around €40million, according to a report from Spanish outlet Todo Fichajes.
Arsenal have previously been linked with Kounde, though Fabrizio Romano played these rumours down when he spoke to CaughtOffside, and suggested the France international would not come cheap for the Gunners.
It remains to be seen how likely it is that Arsenal will be alerted to this situation and act on it, but Mikel Arteta would surely do well to strengthen his defence this winter.
Kounde can play both centre-back and right-back, so could be ideal cover for Jurrien Timber, who has barely featured this season and who indeed may well not play at all again in this campaign, while Takehiro Tomiyasu is also currently out, albeit probably for less long.
If Barcelona really are ready to listen to reasonable offers for a player as talented as Kounde, this seems like too good an opportunity for Arsenal to miss, though of course they also have issues in attack as well that may need addressing.
Gabriel Jesus is not a 25-goal-a-season striker and Eddie Nketiah isn’t that convincing a backup, so it remains to be seen if a defensive player like Kounde would be a top priority, but this is surely a situation they need to keep an eye on.
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