Arsenal and West Brom might be about to do a deal in the January transfer window, and it’ll please some fans, but not others.
The Gunners maintain an interest in Jonny Evans, whom is keen to play European football again, with Manchester City also interested.
The West Brom captain has leadership qualities that would really benefit the Arsenal defence and the team have really lacked such qualities in recent weeks. Shkodran Mustafi is not an Arsene Wenger favourite, Per Mertesacker is retiring at the end of the season and Laurent Koscielny has ongoing injury issues with his Achilles. Nacho Monreal has emerged as a central option, but he turns 32 in February. Calum Chambers and Rob Holding are two young English options, but there are doubts over both of their abilities.
According to reports in France, West Brom are leading the chase for Arsenal defender Mathieu Debuchy, so the Frenchman could be used as part of a makeweight for Evans. West Brom are demanding £30million for Evans, though a deal of around £25million plus Debuchy could be realistically agreed. Debuchy wants to leave the club this month, so a deal as part of something for Evans makes a lot of sense.
Arsenal are interested in Evans as they look to add another central defender to their squad this month. Wenger has acknowledged the need for a Premier League experienced defender and James Tarkowski is also on the list of potential acquisitions.