Exequiel Palacios of River Plate has confirmed that the Gunners are interested in securing his signature during the transfer window.
According to reports in Metro, the 20-year-old was being tracked by Arsenal and Real Madrid over the past year and the youngster is considered as one of the hottest prospects in South America.
He is quoted as saying(as per Metro):
“I’m proud clubs like Real Madrid and Arsenal are interested in me.”
In fact, Real Madrid had a £20m deal agreed with him last year but injury problems prevented that move from happening. River Plate are looking to move him anyway and now, the release clause of Palacios is set to stand at a lower rate of £18m.
Given the fact that the budget of the Gunners is going to be quite low in the transfer market, this represents great value for money. Manager Unai Emery is planning a big summer of recruitment and restructuring and Palacios seems to be one of the players that the club is looking at.
Arsenal are said to be ready to listen to offers for players Mesut Ozil and Shkodran Mustafi and that could mean that there will be some players incoming as well. When the next season starts, the Gunners will be without Petr Cech who retired and Aaron Ramsey who moved to Juventus on a free transfer.
There is a real need to replace the latter and Palacios is a player who could fill in that role. He is a versatile player capable of playing across the midfield and this is one attribute that is sure to benefit the London club.
Given that the North London club could not make it to the Champions League as they lost the Europa League final to Chelsea, signing big-name players is going to be much more difficult. This means that the club should be looking at players who are a little bit under the radar.
Palacios is certainly one of those players and if the Gunners can get him, the chances are that he will be an excellent addition to the squad. Working with a limited budget means that Arsenal will have to be smart in the market. We will have to wait and see what happens with regards to Palacios or any other targets that the club might be looking at.
