Arsenal could make deadline day bid for “underrated” £130k-per-week striker

Arsenal making a deadline day offer for one “underrated” centre-forward is apparently one to watch, following a rumoured setback in their pursuit of versatile Bayern Munich starlet Mathys Tel.

Arsenal identify Mathys Tel as top target for deadline day

The Frenchman has been a hot topic over this last fortnight, with a plethora of Premier League clubs having shown serious interest in obtaining his services before 11pm tonight.

Tel publicly rejected a move to Tottenham, which will surely put him in good stead with the Arsenal faithful already, and Man United aren’t having much luck in persuading the 19-year-old either – with a move to both of those sides apparently off the table.

Arsenal have contacted Bayern over a deal for Tel in recent days, and they’ve also held talks with the player’s camp, as reiterated by Fabrizio Romano. There remains a concrete chance he could leave the Allianz Arena in the final hours, so this appears to be one of the more high-profile stories to watch.

Sky Sports reporter Gary Cotterill, speaking earlier this morning, also says that Tel is a top deadline day target for Arsenal – along with a certain Ollie Watkins.

“We know that those looking at the market are looking short-term, medium-term, long-term for anyone that can improve the squad,” said Cotterill via Sky’s live blog.

“There have been all kinds of strikers linked this January. Top of the list as we go into Deadline Day are Aston Villa striker Ollie Watkins and Mathys Tel.

“The difficulty with Watkins is Villa don’t want him to go, even though the player might be keen. With Tel, it’s different. The player himself doesn’t seem keen to leave Bayern Munich on a permanent deal or on a loan with an obligation, even though the club seem happy for him to leave.”

Arsenal could make deadline day bid for Ollie Watkins after Mathys Tel blow

However, according to Football Transfers, a move for Tel is certain to breakdown due to Bayern’s financial demands – with Vincent Kompany’s side clear they want either a permanent sale or a loan with the obligation to buy.

As a result, Arsenal could make a deadline day bid for Watkins instead, despite having a £60 million offer rejected earlier in the window.

Given Unai Emery has already lost Jhon Duran in a mega-money move to Al-Nassr, it is arguably very unlikely that Villa will sanction a sale at this stage, even if their deals for Marcus Rashford and Marco Asensio seriously strengthen their forward options.

The £130,000-per-week

Watkins, called an “underrated” striker by Leon Osman, boasts 11 goals and nine assists from 33 appearances in all competitions already. An attacker of his calibre won’t be easy to replace, so it could take an absolutely mammoth offer from Arsenal to even get Villa thinking.

On the player’s side, he probably won’t need too much thinking, as the 29-year-old is known to be a boyhood Arsenal supporter.