Arsenal chase FC Barcelona keeper Jasper Cillessen

Cillessen is currently second-choice to German keeper Marc Andre ter Stegen at FC Barcelona.

Under Unai Emery, Arsenal are set for a massive squad overhaul. The deals for Sokratis Papastathopoulos and Stephan Lichtsteiner are already in place, with the former reportedly ready for a medical at the club. The Gunners are also linked with midfielders like Adrian Rabiot and Jean Michel-Seri. The latest in this list is Jasper Cillessen, the Barcelona keeper.

According to a report by Sport, Arsenal have approached FC Barcelona to make an enquiry on the availability of Jasper Cillessen. Along with Arsenal, Chelsea have also shown interest in the keeper.

Arsenal have had a difficult season in 2017-18, as the Gunners conceded 51 goals in the Premier League. Petr Cech has been sloppy in front of the goal at times, which led Arsenal to enter the market for a keeper. Unai Emery has shown interest in signing the keeper, according to Sport.

Chelsea are also monitoring the Cillessen situation, as they face issues relating to contract with Thibaut Courtois.

The report also says that Barcelona are firm on their ground and don’t want to sell Cillessen for anything less than £52m, which is his release clause.

The Dutch international is currently second-choice goalkeeper to Marc Andre ter Stegen, and has appeared for Barcelona in 21 games since joining the club in 2016.

Also read: Which players should Barcelona sign?

Cillessen is a first-team regular for Netherlands. The 29-year old goalkeeper has made 39 appearances for the Dutch side since making his debut in 2013. He was the first-choice goalkeeper for the team during the FIFA World Cup in 2014, when Netherlands finished as third, as they beat Brazil in the third-place match.

However, Netherlands failed to qualify for this year’s world cup in Russia.

Cillessen joined Barcelona from Ajax in 2016, for a fee worth €13m.