Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool could all reportedly get a boost in the transfer pursuit of Ajax defender Jorrel Hato.
The highly-rated young Netherlands international has long been tipped for a big move, and it seems Ajax are not particularly optimistic about their prospects of keeping hold of him.
“I’m afraid that next summer, we will lose him,” a senior Ajax source supposedly told The Athletic.
€60m star AGREES to join Liverpool!
A previous report from The Athletic has linked Hato as a target for Arsenal, while journalist Graeme Bailey has previously reported on Liverpool being interested in him.
It remains to be seen if Arsenal would still be interested in a player of Hato’s profile after they instead signed Riccardo Calafiori in the summer, and at the time that also led to Chelsea apparently showing an interest in Hato, according to TEAMtalk.
Hato certainly fits the bill in terms of Chelsea’s approach in the transfer market, as the 18-year-old is up there with the finest young players in Europe.
The Blues already have a decent amount of depth in defence, however, with Hato capable of playing either centre-back or left-back, but with big names like Levi Colwill, Wesley Fofana, Marc Cucurella and Renato Veiga already among the options in those positions.
Arsenal, as already noted, already have Calafiori as a similar hybrid centre-back and left-back, though the Gunners might benefit from more depth in that position if Jakub Kiwior leaves the Emirates Stadium.
Liverpool probably need Hato most right now, with the Reds facing doubts over Virgil van Dijk’s future as he nears the end of his contract.
Van Dijk is also not getting any younger anyway, so might soon need a long-term successor, which is also true of Andrew Robertson at left-back.
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