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What's the story?
According to reports in The Standard, Arsenal are weighing up a late move for Liverpool target Domagoj Vida after being told they will have to pay £26.9million to sign the Besiktas defender.
Vida was a crucial part of Croatia's fairytale run in the World Cup where they reached the final, eventually losing out to France in the biggest game in their nation's history.
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In case you didn't know...
Vida is currently contracted at Turkish Club Besiktas after he brought over on a free transfer in the winter transfer window in 2018, after spending the majority of his career in Russia with Dynamo Kyiv.
The defender is valued at around 12 million but the Premier League suitors have been informed that they must match the £26.9 million valuation of his current club.
Heart of the matter
Arsenal are under new management with unit Emery taking over at the Emirates following Arsene Wenger's 22-year tenure which came to an end last season. He has looked to freshen things up at a club that seemed to be in a state of paralysis for the past few years.
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To that effect, he has brought in 5 new players including the Lucas Torreira and defender Sokratis from Dortmund. This in addition to a relatively depleted defence with Laurent Koscielny set to miss out the majority of the first half of the upcoming campaign after being stretchered off in the semi-final of the Europa League against Atletico Madrid back in April.
Rumour Probability: 5/10
Shkodran Mustafi, Rob Holding and Mavropanos are the only alternatives in the heart of the defence and hardly any of them is the personification of cool, calm and composed defending. So the interest in bringing in another option in the centre of defence is something that isn't completely out of the blue or devoid of logic.
Also read: Are Arsenal stalling Ramsey's contract extension?
However, considering that Sokratis has already come into the club to address that particular problem, it seems unlikely that a club which is not known for spending too much on transfers would bring in a player for the same position.
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Will Vida add defensive stability to Arsenal? Let us know in the comments section below.
