Arsenal have drawn up a three-man shortlist of potential alternatives to top target Declan Rice.
Arsenal want to sign Rice from West Ham this summer and have made the midfielder their leading transfer target ahead of the summer window, but the Gunners could face strong competition from a number of Premier League rivals and Bayern Munich.
West Ham value Rice in excess of the £90m figure that Arsenal are expected to table and the Daily Mail are reporting that Mikel Arteta has drawn up a shortlist of potential alternatives to the England midfielder.
Arsenal retain interest in Brighton’s Moises Caicedo, having seen an approach for the Ecuadorian turned down during the January transfer window. Caicedo has starred during an impressive season for Brighton and manager Roberto De Zerbi admitted recently that the Seagulls could struggle to keep the 21-year-old this summer.
Arsenal also held discussions with Real Sociedad’s Martin Zubimendi in January and the midfielder remains on the club’s radar.
The Spaniard turned down a move in favour of staying at Sociedad and has publicly reiterated his happiness at the club, who are closing in on Champions League qualification. Barcelona are also interested in the 24-year-old, who has a release clause of £53m.
The third name on Arsenal’s shortlist is Wolves’ captain Ruben Neves. The Portugal international discussed his desire to play Champions League football last week and will enter the final 12 months of his contract at Molineux this summer.
