Barcelona ‘reject’ £55m ‘offer’ from Arsenal for star who Arteta ‘has become obsessed with’
La Liga giants Barcelona have ‘rejected’ a huge offer from Premier League side Arsenal for one of its top players, according to reports.
The Gunners’ 2-2 draw against Crystal Palace on Wednesday means Liverpool now only need a point to win the Premier League title with Arsenal now likely to finish as runners-up for a third season in a row.
However, their title pain has been eased by their impressive performances against Real Madrid in a 5-1 aggregate victory in the quarter-finals of the Champions League.
And potential Champions League glory would only strengthen Arsenal’s position in the transfer market over the summer and Mikel Arteta has already guaranteed a “big summer”.
Arteta recently commented: “It’s going to be a big one and we are very excited about it.
“The way we planned the five first summers, they were going to be very big and they were going to have different objectives because the turnaround of players and the objective of those windows was going to be different.
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“But now when you are going to go again, we want to increase the depth of the squad but as well we want to increase the quality and the skills that we need to go to the next step.”
And Arsenal are wasting no time in the transfer market with reports in Spain claiming Barcelona have ‘rejected’ a €65m (£55m) ‘offer’ from the Gunners for Jules Kounde.
Barcelona president Joan Laporta has ‘ruled out an offer’ from north London with news that Arteta ‘has become obsessed with’ the France international.
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Arsenal ‘quickly made an initial offer, valued at €65 million, which was rejected almost instantly, as he is an absolutely indispensable player’ for Barcelona head coach Hansi Flick.
Kounde, who can play at right-back or centre-back, has proved to be an invaluable member of Flick’s side this season with Barcelona on top of the La Liga table heading into the final five matches.
Arsenal ‘have been impressed by the former Sevilla and Bordeaux player’s performance, which is why they were interested in trying their luck and luring him away from Camp Nou’.
The report adds:
‘However, Laporta and Deco have been very emphatic about this, making it clear that there is no possibility that Kounde could leave Barca anytime soon.
‘For his part, Kounde also doesn’t seem interested in leaving Barca, where he feels very comfortable, and finally there’s a stable and ambitious project that guarantees he can fight for all the titles.
‘He is very happy under Flick, and the intention is to extend his current contract, which expires in 2027.’
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