Arsenal 'hatch plan' to land £50m key transfer target amid keen Aston Villa interest

Arsenal have been gearing up to buy a new striker, with reports yesterday indicating the Gunners are the current front-runners to sign Bologna’s Joshua Zirkzee.

The latest reports out of Italy now suggest that the Emirates Stadium club have gone one step further in their pursuit of the Dutch striker and are ‘preparing the assault’ to take on their fellow competitors Juventus and AC Milan to secure Zirkzee’s signature as soon as the transfer window opens.

The 22-year-old has been on exceptional form for his club, scoring 11 goals and contributing four assists in his 30 Bologna appearances this season. It’s no surprise that he’s seen growing interest from not just Serie A, but elsewhere around European football and the club are expecting to make a record €60m (£51m) sale this summer.

Inter, AC Milan and Juventus are all believed to be keen on landing the growing talent when the summer transfer window opens, but Inter are in no financial position to be making such a bid. As for Inter’s Serie A rivals, both would no doubt fancy their chances of making solid attempts at signing Zirkzee, but Calcio Mercato has reported that the Premier League giants are “above all” the English competition.

The report indicates that Mikel Arteta’s side are ready to offer the winger “staggering numbers” by putting a €6m net salary per season on the cards - he currently makes less than €1m a year. Calcio Mercato continues by also suggesting the Gunners are currently ‘preparing the assault’ and ‘are a real threat’ to both AC Milan and Juventus with the N7 club’s offer to be strong enough to change the whole picture.

The news comes following suggestions from The Mirror that the Brazilian winger Gabriel Jesus - who was bought for £45m - could be sold this summer. The former Manchester City player enjoyed a sterling start to his Emirates career but he has been hampered by consistent injuries, missing 16 games this season on top of the 15 he missed last season.