Bayer Leverkusen have entered discussions with Arsenal over the transfer of defender Saed Kolasinac and plan to sign him before the close of the transfer window.
The 27-year-old was born in German and reportedly wants to return for family reasons, while the fact that he has fallen behind the likes of Kieran Tierney and Ainsley Maitland-Niles for the starting left-back position also increases the likelihood of him leaving.
According to SkySports, Bayer Leverkusen have begun advanced talks for the full-back and have intensified their efforts to sign Saed Kolasinac.
The Bosnia-Herzegovina international signed for Arsenal from Schalke 04 in 2017 and has since made 107 appearances in all competitions for the north London side, scoring five goals and providing 15 assists, while he also helped the club to FA Cup victory in 2020.
A transfer back to his former club was rumored, but the move back to Gelsenkirchen appears to be off the cards and Leverkusen should have the requisite funds to complete the signing of Saed Kolasinac, having recently sold Kai Havertz to Chelsea for the sum of £75.8m.
A transfer fee of £10m is reportedly being proposed for Kolasinac and if the sale is sanctioned, he would be the second departure from the Emirates this summer, with goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez having been sold to Aston Villa for £17m.
Arsenal are in need of extra funds to finance their transfer targets and will welcome sales of fringe players in the next few days.
The Gunner have been linked with the likes of Lyon’s Houssem Aouar and Atletico Madrid’s Thomas Partey but they have been unable to match the asking prices of the respective clubs.
Arsenal’s harrowing loss to Liverpool was indicative of how much work remains to be done at the club and with less than a week to go until the close of the transfer window, Mikel Arteta will be eager to get as much work done in the market as posssible.
