Arsenal are closing in on the signing of Lucas Torreira, but the Gunners are also looking to sign another central midfielder according to the latest reports.
With Jack Wilshere set to leave the club at the end of June when his contract expires, it seems Unai Emery is keen to add new midfielders that are more suited to his style of play. With Torreira set to join, another favourite of Emery’s is Ever Banega, whom he has previously managed.
With Sevilla looking to raise funds, Banega is reportedly being offered out to other clubs and Arsenal and Barcelona are said to be interested. Under Emery previously, Banega has played as a fairly deep-lying number 10.
He may turn 30 this year, but Sevilla are only asking for around €12million for the technically gifted midfielder. The latest reports suggest Arsenal have a serious interest in the deal with Emery keen to unite with his former player.
Banega is nearly 30, but with 64 international caps, he would add experience and creativity from deep areas on the field. He may be seen as a bit of a Santi Cazorla replacement – bringing experience and creativity to central areas of the pitch.
Despite Cazorla and Wilshere departing, should Torreira and Banega arrive, the future of Mohammed Elneny would surely be in doubt, especially with Granit Xhaka signing a new deal and the club hoping to tie Aaron Ramsey to a new long-term contract shortly.
At first this link seemed a bit like agent talk, but now numerous sources are confirming Arsenal’s interest. Should the Gunners and Emery be keen to do this deal, it could be done fairly quickly with Sevilla open to selling the midfielder. Banega is at the World Cup with Argentina though, so any deal would be unlikely to be confirmed before the tournament is over.
Time will tell how serious Arsenal are about Banega, but with multiple sources confirming interest, this could be a go-er. The player is thought to earn around £65,000 per week at Sevilla currently, wages Arsenal could easily trump so agreeing personal terms is unlikely to be an issue.