Arsenal will have to splash out £40 million to land Marco Verratti from PSG this summer, according to the Daily Star.
Despite the unexpected emergence of Francis Coquelin since the start of the year, Arsene Wenger appears keen to bring in another holding midfielder to challenge the 23-year-old, with Mikel Arteta and Mathieu Flamini both past their peak.
Morgan Schneiderlin has been heavily tipped to make a move to the Emirates at the end of the season, but Wenger is keeping his options open should the move for the Saints midfielder collapse for any reason.
Wenger has long admired Verratti, who still has three-years left on his existing deal at the Parc des Princes, but his future at the French champions has been dogged by speculation, with reports suggesting PSG are now ready to sell.
Compared to international team-mate Andrea Pirlo due to his superb passing game and vision, Verratti, 22, would be a superb piece of business for the Gunners to undertake – even though it is a lot of money.
However, Wenger has spent big bucks in the past two seasons, bringing in Mesut Ozil from Real Madrid for £42 million and Alexis Sanchez last summer from Barcelona for around £33 million, so if the Frenchman wants Verratti then the Arsenal board will sanction the big money move.
Juventus and Real Madrid are also thought to be interested in the Italian.
Should Arsenal fork out £40 million for Verratti this summer? Or are there better and cheaper options out there?
Let us know below in the comments section.
