Arsenal target Odilon Kossounou is closing in on a £20 million move to Bayer Leverkusen, according to Kicker. But it is not all bad news for the Premier League giants.
While one door closes, another opens.
That tired old cliché feels particularly pertinent when discussing Arsenal’s pursuit of a new central defender.
The Mirror reported earlier this year that the London giants were keen on Kossounou, an Ivory Coast international who played a major role as Club Brugge added another Belgian top-flight crown to their growing collection last season.
Kossounou will be crossing the border into Germany instead, however, with Bayer Leverkusen closing in on a £20 million deal for a ‘special talent‘ who is expected to become their fourth-most expensive signing of all time.
But is it purely a coincidence that, just 24 hours earlier, Fabrizio Romano said on his now-renowned Here We Go podcast that a move to the Premier League was still very much on the cards for Edmond Tapsoba?
Is the door open for Arsenal to sign Edmond Tapsoba now?
Tuttomercatoweb reported at the end of May that Arsenal were closing in on a £35 million defender in the Rio Ferdinand mould; cultured and commanding in equal measure, belligerent yet beautifully balanced.
While things have gone quiet since then, Romano believes that Tapsoba to Arsenal is still a possibility, with the former Vitoria Guimaraes man identified as someone capable of playing alongside Ben White in a new-look backline.
Kossounou’s arrival is not a guarantee of Tapsoba’s departure.
But it does feel increasingly likely now, especially when you consider that Kossounou looks every inch a readymade replacement for fellow right-footer Tapsoba due to the unavoidable similarities between the two players.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
