Arsenal and Arsene Wenger are on the lookout for a new defender, and Roma’s Kostas Manolas is a reported target. That is according to Konstantinos Lianos of The Independent, with the original link coming from Greek media, who Manolas plays for at international level.
Manolas has been linked with the Gunners for some time, even being touted as a potential signing before his move to Italy. However, Arsenal never made the move, and for €15 million, he was a Roma player.
He has started off well with i Giallorossi, where he was to replace the outgoing Medhi Benatia, who made a big-money move to Bayern last summer. Manolas made the most appearances of any Roma defender last season, playing 41 times in all competitions, but is yet to score for the club.
Wenger is expected to add more defensive stability to the squad in the coming weeks, with Arsenal currently having just three centre-backs in their ranks: Per Mertesacker, Laurent Koscielny and Gabriel Paulista. The report claims that a stumbling block in a potential deal is the fact that Roma are asking for at least double what they paid for him, an amount close to €30million.
Jonny Evans is another name that has been linked in recent days, and a move for the Manchester United defender would cost less, though there is competition from West Brom for the player’s signature.
