Arsenal are on alert after Ferland Mendy was told he can leave Real Madrid this summer.
The Spanish giants need to move players on in the summer to create space in their squad and help fund new signings. And the 27-year-old, whose contract is due to run until June 2025, is one of those deemed surplus to requirements.
Real have told Mendy's representatives there will be no new offer from the Bernabeu and that they are free to find him a new home. The player is looking for a three-year deal and the Gunners will be offered the chance to sign him.
They already have Oleksandr Zinchenko and Kieran Tierney at left-back but the Scot's future is not clear due to him not seeing as much action as he would like. Mendy will cost suitors around £17.5million and it is likely that his agents will seek talks with Tottenham, too.
However, he is keen to join a Champions League side and qualification looks increasingly unlikely for Spurs this season. Mendy joined Los Blancos in the summer of 2019 from French heavyweights Lyon, having made his name at Le Harve, a club acclaimed for bringing through young talent.
Starting just 14 LaLiga games this season due to a loss of form and injury troubles, Mendy has fallen down the pecking order under Carlo Ancelotti, with long-serving defender Nacho Fernandez often preferred and former Chelsea star Antonio Rudiger sometimes slotting in at left-back. The Frenchman, who's notably two-footed, would add to Mikel Arteta 's squad depth and Arsenal technical director Edu confirmed back in March that preparation for the summer transfer window was well underway.
Have your say! Would Ferland Mendy be a good signing for Arsenal? Give us your verdict in the comments section.
"It's already started because you know what's happening in the market, everybody is doing stuff," Edu affirmed. "You have to plan with people as well just to be prepared so when you go again in the summer you are very prepared.
"I always make myself comfortable going into the transfer window when we've prepared how to face those challenges. In the Premier League there's a lot of clubs and a lot of good managers so the competition is hard. So, as soon as you prepare well, you feel comfortable.
"We went into the winter period really, really well prepared and then we started to make some quick and important decisions. So far it's helping the team and the team's performing well so that's good."
Arteta has been reluctant to discuss in detail the Gunners' transfer business, as shown by his response to Granit Xhaka being linked with a move for German side Bayer Leverkusen. "I am not going to be replying to certain stories but I am extremely happy with Granit," the Spaniard affirmed. "I think he is having an incredible season, probably the best he is having at the club and we are really happy to have him."
