'Offers are coming' for Arsenal and Chelsea target

FT Desk

• 1 Nov 2022 22:29 GMT
• 3 min read

Arsenal and Chelsea could face stiff competition from a pair of European giants as they look to sign an in-form left-back…

Alex Grimaldo has lit up the Portuguese Primeira Liga and the Champions League with Benfica this season with a goal and two assists in each competition - from left-back.

The Spaniard is out of contract at the end of the season, and the opportunity to acquire a player still rated at €20 million by Football Transfers' in-house algorithm is proving too good to turn down for some of the continent's biggest teams.

READ: Juventus eye Asensio and Grimaldo transfers

According to Spanish sports daily Diario AS, Barcelona and Juventus also want to sign Grimaldo, and "offers are coming in."

Benfica coach Roger Schmidt is desperate to hold onto the 27-year-old, however.

Schmidt: 'a top player'

"He's a top player with a good mentality, physically strong and important to us," he said recently. "Of course I hope he stays, but these situations are part of football. He'll have to decide himself but at the moment I see him very focused and playing with a smile on his face."

READ: Barcelona want a new left-back - who is on their shortlist?

Barcelona could have advantage when it comes to the pursuit of Grimaldo, despite the fact the aforementioned London clubs would likely to be able to afford a bigger salary offer for the defender.

Grimaldo was in the Barcelona youth academy between 2008 and 2012 and made nearly 100 appearances for Barca B before leaving for Benfica in 2016 for just €1.5m.

With Jordi Alba likely to leave Camp Nou at the end of the season, Grimaldo would compete with the nascent Alex Balde for his place at left-back.

Compared with Kieran Tierney and Oleksandr Zinchenko at Arsenal or Ben Chilwell and Marc Cucurella at Chelsea, his path to regular first-team football would appear to be less blocked with the Blaugrana.