Arsenal move for Croatia wonderkid
Tom Hancock
- 2 Aug 2023 21:33 BST
- 3 min read
Arsenal are reportedly among a number of clubs sniffing around prodigious Dinamo Zagreb and Croatia defender Josip Sutalo.
The Gunners appear to have already met Dinamo’s valuation of the 23-year-old centre-back – who has also been linked with Napoli, RB Leipzig and Ajax.
Sutalo has been a Dinamo regular for the past two seasons, helping his side to successive Croatian titles – having made his first-team debut during their victorious 2019/20 campaign.
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According to TUTTOmercatoWEB, Arsenal have ‘exceeded the €20m [£17.2m] threshold’ set by Dinamo for the potential sale of Sutalo.
West Ham and Bayer Leverkusen are also said to have done so, meaning any move may ultimately come down to the player’s personal preference.
Arsenal are likely to have the financial edge over non-Premier League clubs, but they could face stiff competition from West Ham following the East London club’s recent £105m windfall from selling Declan Rice to… Arsenal.
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Arsenal’s next recruit at the back?
Sutalo has made 86 appearances for Dinamo in total, featuring in last season’s Champions League – where he was part of the team which stunned Chelsea in the group stage, a result that precipitated Thomas Tuchel’s sacking by the Blues.
He earned his first Croatia caps last year and has featured eight times in all for his country at senior level, making his major tournament in their third place play-off victory over Morocco at the 2022 World Cup.
Arsenal made their first defensive acquisition of the summer last month, completing an initial £34.3m (€40m) deal to sign versatile Dutch international Jurrien Timber from Ajax.
Timber joins Rice and Kai Havertz as one of three additions to Mikel Arteta’s squad so far this transfer window.
