Arsenal are believed to have been told to pay €25 million (£20.9 million) if they want to land Valencia centre-half Shkodran Mustafi this summer, according to Deportes Cope Valencia.
The Gunners are facing a defensive crisis after Per Mertesacker suffered a serious knee injury that is expected to keep the German veteran on the sidelines until the new year.
Laurent Koscielny is currently on holiday after featuring for France at Euro 2016, while Gabriel also has tonsillitis.
DeportesCOPEValencia Must –
#infoCopeValencia
El @valenciacf tasa a @MustafiOfficial en 25 millones € y así se lo comunicó a su agente. pic.twitter.com/dSuBwRRRB5— DeportesCOPEValencia (@DepCOPEValencia) July 27, 2016
As such, the North London club are set to be short of options at centre-half ahead of the new Premier League season, which is only a couple of weeks away from starting.
Mustafi has impressed for the Spanish side since moving to La Liga from Sampdoria and was part of the Germany squad that won the World Cup in 2014 and featured in the European Championships this summer.
A relatively modest fee of £20.9 million for someone of the defender’s ability and experience appears reasonable.