Arsenal identify David Luiz replacement but Tottenham are weighing up £20m bid - 7M sport

Arsenal identify David Luiz replacement but Tottenham are weighing up £20m bid



Posted Wednesday, May 12, 2021 by Express.co.uk

David Luiz's Arsenal contract expires at the end of the season and he is expected to depart the Emirates.

Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur are both reportedly interested in signing Joachim Andersen this summer. Andersen has been on loan at Fulham this season and his performances under Scott Parker saw him handed the captain's armband on several occasions.

Now that Fulham's relegation to the Championship has been confirmed, it is unlikely that he will join them permanently.

However, he could remain in the Premier League, with the Telegraph reporting that the two north London clubs are eyeing a move for the Danish international.

Tottenham are said to be in 'pole position' to sign Andersen, but they will face stiff competition from the Gunners.

David Luiz is expected to leave Arsenal when his contract expires at the end of the current campaign and Andersen, who Lyon value at £20m, is reportedly viewed as his ideal replacement.

Arsenal identify David Luiz replacement but Tottenham are weighing up £20m bid
David Luiz's Arsenal contract expires at the end of the season and he is expected to leave (Image: GETTY)

Gunners boss Mikel Arteta has remained coy about Luiz's future, insisting that a decision would not be made until the end of the season.

"He is extremely positive [influence]," Arteta said. "The professional he is, how he looks after himself, but also how he looks after his teammates.

"He’s always willing to help, he’s always really positive around it. He’s got huge experience of how to win things, but as well how to manage difficult moments and you need that. And then he gives a lot of composure to the team both with and without the ball.

"He’s a presence, he’s a leader and someone that is playing really well at the moment. What I want is that he keeps playing like that until the end of the season and we’ll make that decision together."

However, a report from CBS Sports has claimed that Luiz's representatives have begun offering him to other clubs, suggesting he is on his way out.

Arteta has said that the squad "needs changing" over the summer and there has been talk of a mass clear-out at the Emirates.

"The squad needs changing," Arteta said. "There were already a lot of changes in December, something that has not been done in years, but it tells us where we were.

"Things are going to have to change and the owners are going to back it up.

Arsenal identify David Luiz replacement but Tottenham are weighing up £20m bid
Arsenal identify David Luiz replacement but Tottenham are weighing up £20m bid (Image: GETTY)

"Time is catching up right now. It's a trend, it's years now that this has been happening.

"If the distance and the margins with the rest become too big, then it's almost impossible to do it.

"We are still on time, and we have put some very strong pillars and foundations in the last few months to do what we have to do."

"We know what has been going on inside here for the last 18 months. We know. We only know, the ones that are here. How we have built that is incredible."



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