FIRST BID MADE: Arsenal finally join Chelsea in transfer Pursuit for £80m highly talented striker – Player have already agreed to join after having one on one discussion with Arteta
Arsenal have joined Chelsea and two more European clubs in the race to sign Stuttgart star Serhou Guirassy this summer, according to BILD.
The Gunners are on the search for a marquee striker and they recently suffered a setback with Benjamin Sesko opting to prolong his stay at RB Leipzig.
The club are keeping tabs on alternative targets and BILD report that the Gunners are among four clubs in the running to sign Stuttgart’s Guirassy.
Chelsea, Borussia Dortmund and AC Milan are the other teams in contention to land the Guinean ace, who netted 30 goals in the recent campaign.
The 28-year-old has a low release clause between £15-17 million in his contract. He wants to have clarity over his future before the end of the month.
Arsenal eyeing surprise move for Guirassy
The Gunners have lacked the presence of a genuine goalscoring striker since Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
Kai Havertz was impressive up front during the second half of last season. He managed nine goals and six assists in the final 14 league games.
Despite this, manager Mikel Arteta may want someone who can score regularly. Havertz had a shot-to-goal conversion rate of 19 percent last term.
Guirassy, who plays a bit like Mario Gomez, would be a good acquisition following his stand-out campaign for Stuttgart in the Bundesliga.
He had a conversion rate of 30 percent while averaging a goal in every game (30 in 30 appearances).
The 28-year-old would represent a bargain signing at his clause, but the big question is whether he can quickly adapt to the Premier League.
At his age, Guirassy would need to make an instant impact for the Gunners. This has rarely happened with strikers arriving from the Bundesliga.
We believe Guirassy would be a gamble for Arsenal, considering he had not managed more than 14 goals in a season prior to the last campaign.
