Arsenal could be closing in on a move for a Borussia Dortmund player after he was left out of the clubs pre-season tour squad.
The Gunners are still thought to be looking for defensive reinforcements, despite the pending arrival of Rob Holding. A report in Sport Bild suggests Arsenal and West Ham have made ‘lucrative offers’ for Matthias Ginter, a versatile German defender.
The first links between Arsenal and Ginter came last week when The Sun suggested the Gunners were interested in a £12million swoop for him. We covered those reports in more detail.
A move for Ginter would make sense. Arsenal are seeking right-back cover for Hector Bellerin next season whilst Rob Holding and Calum Chambers look set for loan moves. That would leave the Gunners with just three central defenders and one right back in the squad. Ginter, aged just 22, has played plenty of football as a central defender, right back and a defensive midfielder.
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Saying that, Ginter is a similar age to both Holding and Chambers, and they all play in similar positions. Personally I find it hard to believe that Wenger would want to risk ‘killing’ the career of Chambers with two similar additions, unless he’s given up on the Englishman of course..
Sport Witness highlight that Ruhr Nachrichten said Ginter is missing from Dortmund’s pre-season tour due to an ‘infection’. That is of course possible and we are not calling anybody liars here but if he was in talks with a move to Arsenal, or West Ham for that matter, it is unlikely he would be taken on tour.
It is worth noting that Dortmund’s sporting director, Michael Zorc told German newspaper Bild: “Matthias is part of our plans for next season.”
Considering they don’t want to let him leave, it is hard to see them accepting a bid of just £12million for a young, versatile player of Ginter’s ability. When you factor in that Dortmund have already sold several first team stars this summer, this deal becomes very unlikely in my eyes.
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