Arsenal and Man Utd ‘still looking’ at 72-goal Champions League star with £60m release clause
Arsenal and Man Utd could reignite their transfer pursuit of record-breaking Borussia Dortmund striker Serhou Guirassy this summer.
That’s according to Mirror Sport, who say “Both English clubs were and still are looking.”
The French-Guinean tore up the record books on Tuesday night as he achieved several impressive feats with a Champions League hat-trick against Barcelona.
He was the subject of intense transfer speculation last summer, with Arsenal and Man Utd, both of whom made official enquiries, reportedly facing competition from Borussia Dortmund, Bayern Munich, and Chelsea for his signature.
Available for the seemingly reasonable fee of £12.5 million last summer, the Premier League clubs opted to look elsewhere, allowing the 29-year-old to sign a contract which runs until 2028.
The former Stuttgart forward opted to remain in the Bundesliga as he made an £15.4 million move to Signal Iduna Park, but the chances that his exorbitant release clause will be met this summer are increasing by the day.
According to SPORT BILD, Dortmund broke their structure when agreeing to include a £60 million release clause in his contract.
The clause applies exclusively to “half a dozen clubs” such as “top European clubs, including Chelsea,” and formed part of their agreement at the request of Guirassy‘s agents.
All three clubs are widely tipped to buy a forward in the coming transfer window, though the clause isn’t active until after the Club World Cup has concluded in July, with the club eyeing up the £100 million prize on offer in the United States.
Despite losing 5-3 on aggregate, the Dortmund forward leapfrogged Barcelona’s Ballon d’Or favourite Raphinha to become the competition’s top goalscorer with 13 goals.
In addition to that, Guirassy became the highest-scoring African player in a single Champions League season, eclipsing Sebastien Haller’s record of 11 goals. Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane have only managed 10.
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To put his achievements into perspective, Dortmund’s free-scoring number nine has more goals than Erling Haaland and Robert Lewandowski, both of whom netted 10, managed in their best European season at the club.
Tuesday night’s haul took his goalscoring record for the current season to 28 goals and five assists through 40 matches, keeping him on course to eclipse last season’s total of 31 goals and four assists, and taking his total goals scored to 72 since the start of last season.
Speaking after the match, Guirassy said: “I’m proud because we played a great game and I think the fans were very satisfied.
“The 4-0 scoreline in Barcelona was slightly too much to come back from. It’s a shame that we were too far behind in the match of the year. That will serve us as a lesson for future matches. But we fought until the end. Barcelona have a brilliant team, we’re also a brilliant team.
“It’s lovely to be the top goalscorer in the Champions League. There are very good players. Being first means that I’m a good striker. But I can’t do it alone, without the team. It’s a shame that the competition ends today.”
The defeat means Dortmund, who are currently eighth in the Bundesliga table and six points behind fourth-placed RB Leipzig, may not be able to offer Guirassy Champions League football next season.
The offer of playing at the top level was part of the agreement that lured him to Dortmund in the first place and is thought to mean his agents will be actively pursuing one of Europe’s top clubs to trigger his release clause this summer.
