Arsenal have reportedly planned an ‘important contract’ as they seek to lure Mehdi Benatia from Juventus during the summer transfer window.
The Morocco international had been with the Bianconeri for the past two seasons which includes an initial season-long loan from Bayern Munich but the club are now prepared to part ways with his services to recruit a younger replacement.
According to Tuttosport, the Gunners are among the contenders for the 31-year-old centre-back whose future in Turin remains uncertain beyond the summer.
As per the report, Juventus have lined up Ajax Matthijs de Ligt as the ideal candidate to replace the Moroccan as they seek to reduce the overall age of their backline heading into a new era.
Despite this, the Gunners are unlikely to have a clear route to the player with Benatia previously admitting he could consider a return to Marseille, where he began his professional career.
Bolstering the backline has been the Gunners priority since the close of the league season and head of recruitment Sven Mislintat has already earmarked a number of options to strengthen the department.
A deal for Benatia’s teammate Stephan Lichtsteiner is said to be nearly over the line, according to reports, whilst the German is supposedly close to make another raid on ex-club Borussia Dortmund.
Sokratis Papastathopoulos has been tipped to join the Gunners since the end of the previous campaign and the Greek could potentially become the club’s first central defensive signing with a £16m deal close to completion.
Freiburg’s Caglar Soyuncu is another who has been contacted regarding a summer move and further discussions are due to take place following Turkey’s international friendly against Russia next week.
Meanwhile, Benatia is currently with Morocco in preparation for the summer World Cup finals in Russia and any deal may only be resolved after the nation return from the global tournament.
