Arsenal and Juventus are reportedly set to go head-to-head in order to land the highly rated Schalke 04 left-back Sead Kolasinac in the summer.
TuttoMercatoWeb have reported that Arsenal are eyeing a summer move for Schalke 04 left-back Sead Kolasinac on a free transfer, with the Bosnian’s contract with the Bundesliga outfit set to run out at the end of the season. However, the Gunners face competition as Juventus are also keeping tabs on the full back.
Sead Kolasinac is one of the most highly rated young defenders in Europe today, having made waves for Schalke 04 in recent years. The Bosnia and Herzegovina international joined the club’s academy as an 18-year-old and made rapid strides in the youth and second team setup at the club to make his first team debut only a year later.
In the four years since making his first team debut for Schalke and Bosnia, Kolasinac has made quite the impression, racking up 81 appearances for Die Konigsblauen, while being capped 17 times by his national side.
Kolasinac is known to be solid defensively with impeccable positional skills, but in the mould of modern full backs, the Bosnian also contributes in attack, with the left-back scoring two and assisting a further four goals in Bundesliga this season.
The report states that Arsene Wenger is keen to bring Kolasinac to the Emirates Stadium in the summer transfer window, but Juventus are also in the fray with the Italian champions already in touch with the defender’s representatives.
Wenger’s urgency to sign Kolasinac stems from current first choice left-back Nacho Monreal’s struggles in a few matches this campaign, with the Spaniard lacking the pace to create any sort of attacking threat. On top of that, Monreal’s backup Kieran Gibbs is looking for a move away from the club as he seeks more first team football action.
Arsenal signed Cohen Bramall earlier this week, but the 20-year-old has only joined the club’s under-23 development squad, and is still some way off joining up with the first team.
Juventus, on the other hand, will soon have just Alex Sandro as their senior left-back option, as Patrice Evra is considering a move away from the Italian champions, with Manchester United and Valencia targetting the Frenchman.
Kolasinac is in the final six months of his contract with Schalke. The 23-year-old can thus, speak to potential suitors over a move in the summer and, with both Arsenal and Juventus eager to sign a left-back, it will be interesting to see where Kolasinac’s future lies, immediate and otherwise.
