According to The Athletic, Arsenal and Crystal Palace could be set to miss out on Nathan Collins after Burnley agreed a £12 million fee with Stoke.
What’s the story?
Well, Sean Dyche’s side are closing in on the signing of the 20-year-old, who excelled in the Championship in 2020/21.
The Athletic mention Arsenal’s interest in their report.
Elsewhere, it was The Sun who revealed that Crystal Palace are also huge admirers of the centre-back.
Sadly, it now looks like both London clubs will miss out.
Collins scored two goals and provided one assist in 22 Championship appearances last season as the Potters finished 14th.
The Irishman has done superbly well to earn a move to the Premier League at just 20 years of age.
If he impresses at Turf Moor, because he will use Burnley as a stepping stone to get to Arsenal one day – that, however, remains to be seen.
Crystal Palace’s problem more than Arsenal’s
Mikel Arteta has a number of centre-backs, so losing out on Collins isn’t a huge issue – there are certainly more pressing areas to bolster.
The Spaniard has so many options that he can’t even fit Arsenal’s own centre-back prodigy, William Saliba, into his side.
However, Crystal Palace really did need Collins – the Eagles simply have to freshen up their centre-back department.
Currently, the south Londoners have a group of ageing, injury prone options in Scott Dann, Cheikhou Kouyate, Gary Cahill and James Tomkins.
In that respect, younger centre-backs simply have to arrive at Selhurst Park this summer – once a new manager is appointed, of course.
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