Man Utd and Arsenal locked in battle for Bayern's Serge Gnabry

Cameron Smith
Cameron Smith
  • 3 Jul 2022 15:38 BST
  • 3 min read
Serge Gnabry, Bayern Munich, 2021/22
© ProShots

Manchester United and Arsenal find themselves locked in yet another battle for the same transfer target.

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The two English giants remain in competition to sign Ajax's Lisandro Martinez, who is wanted by both Erik ten Hag and Mikel Arteta to provide verstaility across a number of positions, and they're now ready for a bidding war for Serge Gnabry.

Gnabry, 26, spent five years between 2011 and 2016 at Arsenal before leaving on a permanent deal to join Werder Bremen in his homeland.

However, he's now been linked with a transfer back to the Gunners, who are keen to add yet more attacking quality to the squad. They were heavily linked with Raphinha, but the Brazilian now looks set to join Barcelona, while Gabriel Jesus and Fabio Vieira have both already arrived.

Mikel Arteta is still pursuing another forward, something Man Utd are also interested in. The Red Devils have been asked to accept any acceptable offer they receive for Cristiano Ronaldo by the player himself as he seeks an exit from the club just one year after he re-joined from Juventus.

Ronaldo, 37, has been linked with a move to the likes of Bayern, Chelsea, Roma and Sporting CP as his agent Jorge Mendes continues to offer him around Europe.

A new centre forward was likely needed at Man Utd before Ronaldo's wish to leave following the departure of Edinson Cavani following the expiration of his contract.

However, this news means Man Utd may need to sign two attackers at the very least. With Anthony Elanga featuring regularly on the right wing last season, there is certainly space in that area of the pitch if Jadon Sancho continues on the opposite side.

Serge Gnabry could leave Bayern Munich this summer
© ProShots - Serge Gnabry could leave Bayern Munich this summer

Gnabry to leave Bayern

Gnabry has therefore been targeted, with the Germany international open to leaving Bayern this summer. His contract at the Allianz Arena is set to expire in 2023, and the German club will sell if he doesn't want to renew his deal, which is the state of play after he rejected new £220,000-a-week offer.

According to the Daily Star, both Man Utd and Arsenal are heavily interested in signing Gnabry this transfer window with his fee set to be around £40m due to his contract situation.

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