Arsenal and Man City eye SHOCK move for World Cup winner

Cameron Smith

Updated: 12 Sept 2023 21:54 BST
4 min read

Mikel Arteta, Pep Guardiola — © ProShots

Arsenal, Manchester City, Aston Villa and Juventus are all reportedly keeping tabs on Atletico Madrid defender Nahuel Molina as they eye a potential move for the World Cup winner.

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Molina, 25, only joined Atleti from Udinese last summer, but he has already been touted for a move away with several clubs across Europe keen on signing him.

That is according to Tuttomercatoweb, who have reported that Atletico Madrid intend to offer the Argentine a new contract that will run until 2029. Molina’s current deal is due to expire in 2027.

The report states that Arsenal, Man City, Aston Villa and Juventus are all lurking as they eye a move for Molina.

The right-back made 43 appearances during his debut campaign at Atleti, scoring four goals and providing four assists in all competitions. Furthermore, he played in all seven of Argentina’s games at the 2022 World Cup, six of which came as starts, as he helped his nation to glory in Qatar.

Atletico Madrid signed Molina for €20m in 2022 and would likely aim to turn a profit on the 25-year-old if they were to sanction a sale.

Diego Simeone’s side signed Cesar Azpilicueta on a free transfer from Chelsea this summer, but the veteran Spaniard has not yet been able to displace Molina as Atleti’s first-choice right-wing-back.

Arsenal, Man City, Aston Villa & Juventus interested

Arsenal signed Jurrien Timber to bolster their backline this summer, but the Dutchman has already suffered an ACL injury and looks set to miss the majority of the 2023-24 season.

Man City added Josko Gvardiol for €90 million, although he will play as a centre-back or as a left-back, while Kyle Walker remained at the club despite links with a move to Bayern Munich.

On the other hand, Juventus purchased Timothy Weah from Lille, while Aston Villa’s first-choice right-back remains Matty Cash.

Therefore it seems as though Molina would likely be a rotation option if he leaves Atletico for one of the four interested parties.