English giant Arsenal has started official negotiations with German champion Bayer Leverkusen for the transfer of young star Jarrell Kwanza, world sports media report.
The manager of the “Gunners“ Mikel Arteta is urgently looking for reinforcements in the defensive line due to the injury of William Saliba, seeing the 23-year-old English international as an ideal choice due to his versatility in the center and on the right side of defense.
According to information from the authoritative British publication Sky Sports (www.skysports.com), “Aspirins“ do not want to part easily with the defender, whom they purchased from Liverpool last summer for 30 million pounds. The Guardian's Ed Ahrens (www.theguardian.com) adds that Leverkusen have set a starting price of at least €50m (£43m) for the player's rights. The buyout clause that the Merseyside club had in his contract has now expired, giving Arsenal and the German club complete freedom of negotiation.
Bundesliga transfer collapse: Cologne rejects €50 million
At the same time, a real transfer drama broke out in Germany. Cologne's management officially rejected a record offer from Borussia Dortmund worth over 50 million euros for their big young star Said El Malah. Sports media GOAL (www.goal.com) reports that the offer from the “yellow-blacks“ was structured as a €46 million guaranteed amount plus bonuses tied to long-term goals and number of matches played.
However, Cologne's bosses remained dissatisfied with the uncertain payment structure and rejected the offer. Borussia Dortmund sporting director Lars Ricken has confirmed to German media that the club is officially withdrawing from the race for the 19-year-old winger. “Said El Malah will not be joining Dortmund this summer. Cologne rejected our final offer and we will not be sending a new offer“, Ricken was categorical. The situation surrounding the winger continues to be monitored by Italian club Milan, who could take advantage of the failed negotiations.