Girona to smash transfer record twice, captain to depart and Arsenal show interest in forward | OneFootball

Girona are looking to double their record transfer spend in order to replace outgoing captain Aleix Garcia. The Catalan midfielder has reportedly agreed a deal to head to Bayer Leverkusen, worth around €15m for Girona, although Julen Lopetegui’s West Ham are threatening to hijack the deal.

As per Matteo Moretto, Girona are closing in on a deal for Sparta Prague centre-back Ladislav Krejci, who has already bid farewell to his teammates. Krejci, 25, was subject to a bid from Real Betis, but it is Girona who are closing in on an agreement for the Czech international for €12m.

Krejci, who also captains Sparta, has scored 11 goals and given 7 assists from defence in 39 games this season. For his national side, he already has three goals in nine caps too.

That would break their €7.75m record spend on Artem Dovbyk, but they will almost double that with their investment in Uruguayan attacker Luciano Rodriguez. MD say they have wrapped up a deal for the 20-year-old Uruguayan midfielder for €15m.

Rodriguez has just made his international debut for Marcelo Bielsa, and is expected to sign a five-year deal, in exchange for 70% of his rights. He is seen as the eventual Savio replacement if the Brazilian cannot return to Girona, and has just played a starring role for Liverpool de Montevideo, as they won the Uruguayan Championship.

It could be that he ends up being more of a replacement for Viktor Tsygankov. Girona are keen to tie him down to a new deal with a higher release clause – his current €30m release clause would see Girona receive just €15m, as 50% of his fee is due to Dynamo Kyiv. Tsygankov has been linked to Bayern Munich in recent months, while Diario AS say that Arsenal and Milan are also interested. The lack of Champions League football for Tottenham Hotspur makes them an outsider for his signature.