Arsenal fans are used to seeing the club linked with lots of different players in different positions, especially in the run up to and during a transfer window. But Arsene Wenger;s words this week suggested that all these Arsenal transfer rumours are not just guesswork, at least not all of them.
As our Just Arsenal contributor James wrote today, the Arsenal boss has admitted to having various target defenders to strengthen the squad but he is having difficulty getting them, especially as their clubs are not keen to sell in the January transfer window.
We know that Wenger does not like to spend to much money and it seems that clubs are asking more than he thinks players are worth. But at least one of our target defenders seems to be trying to help Wenger out on this front, as a report in The Mirror has revealed.
The young, powerful and talented Dutch defender Virgil van Dijk has spoken out to welcome interest from Arsenal and suggested that he would be very keen on becoming a Gunner. And he has gone further, by claining that his current club Celtic are being unrealistic with their £10 million valuation of him that could stop his transfer to Arsenal this season.
The 23-year old said, “”I am now 23 and have played at Willem II, FC Groningen and Celtic and am now linked to clubs like Arsenal. Isn’t that great?
“There are a lot of clubs interested, but Celtic is holding onto a big transfer fee. The club is clear: they don’t want to let me go in the winter, because we’re playing for four trophies.
“I understand the point of view from the club and I see it as a compliment that they don’t want to let me go. But we have to be realistic. If there’s a nice club from England, we have to talk. I want to develop myself as a player, that’s for sure.”
Now if he was to hand in a transfer request it would certainly make Wenger’s job easier. But will van Dijk’s words facilitate his move to north London?