Arsenal must bid £52m to ‘open talks’ for Bundesliga star
Arsenal will have to pay a hefty fee this summer if they want to sign Bayer Leverkusen defender Edmond Tapsoba, according to reports.
The Burkina Faso international has been in good form for Leverkusen this campaign, starting 29 Bundesliga matches and helping the club to a sixth-placed finish.
Tapsoba only joined ther German club in 2020 from Portuguese outfit Vitoria de Guimaraes for £16.2m but he’s already being linked with another transfer.
Gossip: Arsenal and Spurs both linked to £40m men
A report earlier this month said that Mikel Arteta will ‘now be given extra funds for the next transfer window’ with the Arsenal hierarchy placing their faith in him to be in charge next season.
An eighth-placed finish in the Premier League isn’t good enough for a club of the Gunners’ stature but their results towards the end of the season were encouraging.
Yesterday, an Italian journalist Gianluigi Longari, who works for SportItalia, claimed that Arsenal had ‘showed strong interest’ in Tapsoba and that they are ‘currently the favourites to get to the defender’.
#Arsenal ha manifestato forte interesse nei confronti del centrale difensivo del #BayerLeverkusen Edmond #Tapsoba. Il giocatore è molto corteggiato ma i #gunners sono al momento i favoriti per arrivare al difensore. #AFC @tvdellosport #transfers
— Gianluigi Longari (@Glongari) May 25, 2021
And now Sport1 chief reporter Patrick Berger (via Sport Witness) has also confirmed Arsenal’s interest in the centre-back but admits that ‘several UK clubs are interested’.
There is understood to be ‘no release clause’ in Tapsoba’s contract and that they ‘don’t want to sell the centre-back this summer as he is one of the key players’.
However, Berger does give Arsenal some hope by claiming that any club can ‘open talks’ if they bid €60m (£52m).
Several UK clubs are interested in Edmond Tapsoba (also #AFC). The 22-year-old has NO release clause in his contract until 2026. Bayer Leverkusen normally don’t want to sell the centre-back this summer as he is one of the key players. A club has to bid €60m to open talks. ⚫️🔴
— Patrick Berger (@berger_pj) May 25, 2021
Meanwhile, Arteta is adamant the team have improved recently, ending the campaign with five consecutive league wins – their best run in the competition since October 2018.[/caption]
“When I was with the team a few months ago and with them now, regardless of the results, we are in a much better place and will be in a much better place and can hopefully take the club where we want,” Arteta said.
“It is frustrating because last season with 61 points we (would have finished) fifth, now we are eighth and that is the step that we have to identify.
“The level has gone so high so the only way to do it is to be much better next season and much more consistent and this is the challenge ahead of us.”
