Reims president Jean-Pierre Caillot spoke to L’Equipe about Axel Disasi amid rumours about a move away from France this summer.
The young defender has made a brilliant impression in Ligue 1 this season, and his performances have allegedly caught the eye of multiple clubs in Europe including Arsenal.
The Gunners are on the lookout for a new centre-half ahead of this summer’s transfer window. The Mail claimed a few weeks ago that Mikel Arteta’s side were in talks with Reims over a potential transfer and those rumours have been fuelled further.
Reims president Jean-Pierre Caillot said: “As I speak, he (Disasi) is unlikely to go to Spain. We have more interesting offers from other championships, I advise you to read the foreign press and especially English.”
Disasi will have just a year left on his contract this summer. That leaves Reims in a difficult position and a sale looks increasingly likely.
The Mail claimed that Arsenal would have to fork out a fee in the region of £15 million for Disasi, which would be an absolute bargain.
The Gunners, like many other clubs, will struggle financially due to the problems across the world. That will force them to look for cut-price deals and Disasi fits that profile perfectly.
Arsenal have to sell before buying
It will be interesting to see how Arsenal manage their defenders. The Gunners have David Luiz, Sokratis, Shkodran Mustafi, Calum Chambers, Rob Holding and Dinos Mavropanos on their payroll.
A decision on Pablo Mari’s future is yet to be taken while highly-rated Willian Saliba will add to Arsenal’s numbers this summer.
Arteta will have to get rid of at least a couple of his defenders before they bring in new ones, which will not be easy in such a difficult market.
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