Serie A side Lazio are reportedly in the running to acquire the services of Arsenal midfielder Alex Iwobi this summer. The Nigeria international has been a decent performer for the Gunners since making his first-team debut in 2015 but his future has come under question under new manager Unai Emery.
According to Il Messaggero, the 22-year-old is attracting interest from Lazio but he won’t come on the cheap with the Gunners understood to demand between £20m to £22m for their club graduate.
Iwobi made a positive start to his Gunners career during the 2015/16 campaign and there were suggestions that the Nigerian could transform into a top-prospect for the club in the coming years.
However, he has since not made a huge impression in terms of the Premier League and he had to contend with more of a substitute role under the tutelage of former manager Arsene Wenger last term.
With the new season starting in less than three weeks, Emery has hinted that the club may pursue one ‘big signing’ before the transfer deadline and Iwobi could be among those offloaded to compensate for the probable arrival.
Nevertheless, the true nature of Iwobi’s situation may only be known following the pre-season tour of Singapore where the Nigerian is scheduled to feature against Atletico Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain.
Arsenal have placed a keen emphasis on improving on the defensive strength of the squad this summer and so far, they have recruited five signings with a budget of a little over £70m.
Bernd Leno has been bought to solve the key issue between the sticks while Stephan Lichtsteiner and Sokratis Papastathopoulos should add more experience in the defence.
Other than that, Lucas Torreira’s arrival should improve on the club’s solidity in the centre of the park with Matteo Guendouzi being the only unknown in terms of quality. The former Lorient ace could be regarded as a future prospect.
Lazio interested in signing £22m-rated Premier League ace
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