Arsenal battle Napoli to sign Stanislav Lobotka

Arsenal are interested in signing the 23-year old midfielder, according to reports from Italy.

According to Italian outlet Corriere dello Sport, Arsenal are set to compete with Napoli and Paris Saint Germain to sign Stanislav Lobotka. Lobotka currently plays for Celta Vigo in La Liga.

The Slovakian midfielder has a €50m release clause and his contract expires on 2023. Hence, Celta Vigo is reportedly playing on the hard lines, asking a tough price for the midfielder.

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Earlier, Jack Wilshere confirmed his departure from Arsenal, which makes a void in the Arsenal’s midfield. This might perhaps be the reason for Gunners’ moving for the Slovakian midfielder.

Lobotka has been a first-team regular with Celta Vigo, playing in all the 38 La Liga games for the club. Overall, he has appeared in 41 games for Celta Vigo this season. He joined the club in the summer of 2017.

The 23-year old midfielder earlier played for Danish club Nordsjaelland, where he won the club’s player of the year trophy in 2016-17 season.

Stanislav Lobotka has also made 11 international appearances for Slovakia, making his debut against Slovenia in the World Cup qualifier.

Meanwhile, Arsenal are also heavily linked with Lucas Torreira and Ever Banega, and should the deal for any of the two goes through, it is unlikely that Arsenal will be keen on the move for Lobotka.

The Gunners have already completed the signing of Stephan Lichtsteiner from Juventus. The right-back is currently leading Switzerland in the World Cup in Russia. Earlier this week, Arsenal confirmed the acquisition of German goalkeeper Bernd Leno from Bayer Leverkusen.