Arsenal are reportedly set to revive their interest in former Manchester United centre-back Jonny Evans when the summer transfer window opens.
Arsenal are planning to make another attempt at signing former Manchester United defender and current West Bromwich Albion captain Jonny Evans in the summer, as per a report from TransferMarketWeb.
The Gunners have been trying to land the Northern Irishman for quite some time now and were hot on the heels of the Baggies in their pursuit of Evans in the January transfer window as well.
It is understood that Arsenal came in with a derisory £12 million bid for the former Manchester United man on the transfer deadline day last month, which was swiftly rejected by West Brom, who were demanding a fee in the upwards of the £25 million mark for the 30-year old.
The North Londoners also tried to offer Mathieu Debuchy as a potential deal sweetener to try and sign Evans last month. But, Alan Pardew’s side did not budge from their stance, leaving Arsenal empty-handed. However, with the Baggies facing the prospect of relegation, Arsenal are set to reignite their interest in Evans come summer and could very well end up signing him.
Arsène is set to revive his interest in Jonny Evans in the summer. [Mail]
Holding and Chambers have not been fancied whilst Mertesacker is approaching the end of his career
Evans ticks several of Wenger’s boxes, including composure on the ball and vast Premier League experience pic.twitter.com/rKapGFVBKv
— ARSENAL (@tomgunner14) February 17, 2018
Evans, a Manchester United academy graduate, was a transfer target for Premier League leaders Manchester City as well. Pep Guardiola’s side failed with a £30 million bid to sign him last summer and were reported to be maintaining an interest in him in the winter window as well, until they broke the bank to sign Aymeric Laporte from Athletic Bilbao in a club-record transfer.
Evans joined West Brom from Manchester United in the summer of 2015 and has gone on to cement his status as one of the most reliable centre-halves in the English top-flight. In a season that has been marred by relegation battles for the Baggies, the 30-year old has once again emerged as one of the better performers clocking 22 appearances in the Premier League, scoring two goals.
Arsenal could definitely do with signing a new defender in the summer to try and sort out their woes at the back. Captain Laurent Koscielny isn’t getting any younger, while Shkodran Mustafi has time and again shown that he is susceptible to errors whereas the likes of Calum Chambers and Rob Holding have lacked the requisite appearance at this level.
A veteran of over 200 English top-flight appearances, Evans is in his peak years and his signing could work wonders for a leaky Gunners’ backline. Given that West Brom are prime contenders to get relegated come the end of the season, it shouldn’t be much of a problem for Arsenal to prise away the Northern Irishman from the Midlands club.
