Arsenal have continued to hold talks with Bolton over the signing of defender Rob Holding, whilst the Gunners are also looking to sign a young left back.
Arsene Wenger is keen on 20-year-old Holding, who has been one of few positives for the Trotters this season, who have just suffered relegation from the Championship.
Holding was nominated Player of the Year for his club after mounting a series of impressive performances which will make it difficult for Bolton to keep hold of following their move to League One.
Amid interest from the likes of Bournemouth and Everton, Holding was left out of his sides final game of the season, and now it looks like Arsenal are front runners to snatch his signature.
Bolton’s manager Jimmy Phillips admitted that the business is out of his hands, and any deal could get wrapped up within the next few days.
I was asked by the board of directors not to play him yesterday (7th May). He was in the line-up on Friday morning but that’s as much as I know.
It would appear some clubs are interested in him somewhere down the line. I think the wheels are still in motion on that one and it’ll be a few days before we get an outcome.
The central defender will admire the chances the North London club hand to their youngsters. An initial £750,000 bid was knocked back but it’s believed a bid in the region of £2million will be enough to complete a deal – although any deal is likely to be heavily performance related so the exact value will be unclear.
Wenger views Holding as a potential long-term centre-back options with both Laurent Koscielny and Per Mertesacker approaching the backend of their playing careers.
Arsenal are also looking to sign a young left back with Ben Chilwell (Leicester), Kieran Tierney (Celtic), Raphael Guerreiro (FC Lorient) and Charlie Taylor (Leeds) all being considered.
Want more Arsenal news like this? Follow us on Twitter and Facebook!