Arsenal could miss out on the signing of Ibrahima Konate this summer as Liverpool closes in on signing the RB Leipzig centre back.
The 21-year-old is highly rated at the German side, even though his start to life with them has been plagued by injuries.
Since joining them from Sochaux in 2017, he has suffered from one muscle injury or another and this has limited his impact at the German side.
Nevertheless, when he has played alongside Bayern Munich-bound, Dayot Upamecano, he has impressed.
His talent has seen several teams become interested in him including Arsenal who is gradually assembling several top young talents at the Emirates.
They added Gabriel Magalhaes to their team in the summer, but their defence has since lost the likes of Shkodran Mustafi and Sokratis.
They are expected to add a new defender when this campaign ends, especially if David Luiz leaves and Konate is a player they want.
But The Athletic says Liverpool is leading the race for his signature and they have made significant progress in their effort to add the Frenchman to their team.
The Premier League champions have missed the services of their senior defenders for much of this season and they will want to remedy that by adding another centre-back in the summer.