Arsenal will reportedly move to sign Espanyol striker Raul de Tomas once Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s move to FC Barcelona is wrapped up.
According to AS, the Gunners have identified the La Liga attacker as a replacement for their Gabon attacker, with the north London side desperate to sign a striker and Mikel Arteta’ side running out of time to make a transfer.
De Tomas has been linked with the club in patches this January, with the likes of Alexander Isak, Jonathan David and Dominic Calvert-Lewin also on Arsenal’s radar.
Indeed, the La Liga attacker has a reported release clause of £60m according to the Sun. And whilst De Tomas is the oldest of all the strikers linked to Arsenal, the forward has been in impressive form this campaign for Espanyol.
The 27-year-old has bagged 12 goals in La Liga this season, eight more than what Isak has scored for Real Sociedad this campaign. And this form could tempt Arteta to pull the trigger and sign De Tomas in the final hours of the window.
Arsenal have shopped at Espanyol for strikers before, with Arsene Wenger signing Lucas Perez in 2017. However, the striker only lasted one season at the club before joining West Ham.
De Tomas could be Arsenal’s only hope of landing a striker today
With time running out, Arsenal could be about to hit the panic button to bring in a striker, and De Tomas could well be the player Arteta and Edu Gaspar bring in on the eleventh hour to save their attacking problems.
The 27-year-old has been in good form for Espanyol this season. And with Arsenal desperate to sign a centre forward, De Tomas could be the gunners only hope of landing a striker with just over 12 hours of the window left to go.
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