Arsenal 'prepare bid' for Erling Haaland team-mate as transfer plan revealed | OneFootball

Gunners already appear to be making moves for January amid injury woes

Arsenal may already be considering new signings in the January transfer window after a spate of injury concerns during the international break.

Christos Tzolis and Kai Havertz are both undergoing assessment on hamstring injuries suffered playing for Greece and Germany respectively during the current extended three-week window, while Martin Odegaard took a knock to his ankle on Norway duty before making a quick recovery.

Declan Rice withdrew from the England squad and William Saliba remains sidelined, though there was at least some good news with fellow defenders Ben White, Piero Hincapie and Cristhian Mosquera all returning to training at London Colney, along with youngster Marli Salmon.

Still, the latest setbacks in attack for Arsenal will have fans already lamenting a risky summer transfer strategy in which they struggled to properly reinforce their options up front, missing out on high-profile deals for top targets such as Julian Alvarez and Vinicius Jr.

The likes of Eberechi Eze, Noni Madueke and Viktor Gyokeres will now have to step up amid those injuries that do not sound long-term, though there is no doubt that Mikel Arteta still needs more depth after the exits of Leandro Trossard, Gabriel Martinelli and Ethan Nwaneri. Here is all the latest Arsenal transfer news.

Erling Haaland transfer plan ‘revealed’

Obviously not a deal that is even remotely possible in January, but Arsenal have been very tentatively linked with Erling Haaland ever since news first emerged last week of Manchester City being found guilty by an independent commission of 114 of their 115 Premier League charges.

City have confirmed that they are appealing the verdict, but if that fails then the sanctions on the club are likely to be severe, with a fine, points deduction, transfer ban and even expulsion from the Premier League all among the range of possible outcomes.

City’s top-flight status possibly being in jeopardy would inevitably lead to serious doubts over the futures of several key players, most notably Haaland, who would command interest from every top club in Europe if he were to become available - including Arsenal.

However, reports from TEAMtalk claim that Haaland would prefer a switch to LaLiga, having been a long-term target for Real Madrid and Barcelona.

They even say that his camp have set the summer of 2027 as a likely exit date, despite Haaland having only signed a bumper new contract at the Etihad Stadium last year that is valid until 2034.

Transfer talk: Erling Haaland and Antonio Nusa are international team-mates with Norway

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While Haaland seems very unlikely to end up at Arsenal, with whom he has had notable beef in recent times, one of his highly-rated Norway team-mates just might.

Widespread transfer interest is once again building in Antonio Nusa, who has already scored three goals and provided two assists in six appearances across all competitions for RB Leipzig so far this season.

The versatile winger was heavily linked with a switch to the Premier League before swapping Club Brugge for the Bundesliga on a five-year contract in 2024, since going from strength to strength.

German outlet Fussball News claim that Arsenal are leading the race for Nusa, but have arch-rivals Tottenham right there with them in the fight.

Newcastle and Aston Villa are also said to be monitoring the 21-year-old, along with a host of other clubs across Europe including Barcelona, Atletico Madrid, Bayern Munich, Inter Milan, AC Milan, Juventus, Napoli and Roma.

It is reported that Arsenal are preparing an opening bid for Nusa worth around €40million (£34m), though Leipzig would apparently demand up to €65m (£55m) and are extremely reluctant to sell in January.

Night to forget: Igor Matanovic came off the bench for Croatia in their 7-0 loss to England

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Arsenal battle Chelsea and Man Utd for striker

Arsenal are rumoured to be among the clubs keeping a watchful eye on Freiburg striker Igor Matanovic.

According to CaughtOffside, the Gunners have dispatched scouts to watch the towering Croatian forward in action already this season.

However, Chelsea and Manchester United are said to have done likewise, with a potential battle brewing between the Premier League heavyweights for a player who has already scored six goals in seven appearances across all competitions this season - and whose value may now have jumped up towards the £50m mark.