Aston Villa are considering making a move for Arsenal defender Rob Holding this summer as the Gunners look to offload a number of fringe players.
The return of William Saliba from a successful loan spell with Marseille has seen Holding fall down the pecking order in Mikel Arteta's squad, with the Frenchman enjoying a brilliant pre-season and start to the 2022/23 campaign. The 26-year-old made a total of 21 appearances for Arsenal last term but faces an uphill battle to force his way into the first team, with Gabriel Magalhaes and Saliba proving to be a solid partnership at the back.
Calum Chambers found himself in a similar position to Holding, wanting regular first-team football last season. He eventually sealed a move away to join Steven Gerrard's side in the January transfer window. The Arsenal defender could look to follow Chambers to Villa Park this summer, with Gerrard looking to sign another centre-back after the new signing Diego Carlos suffered a long-term injury at the weekend.
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Technical director Edu Gaspar is currently focusing on securing the sales of a number of fringe players in Arteta's squad, with Bernd Leno, Lucas Torreira, Pablo Mari and Alex Runarsson all leaving the club on permanent or loan deals. Edu can now look to repeat the sale of Chambers by negotiating a transfer exit for Holding to join Villa and freeing up a significant amount of wages as the Gunners target more signings before the transfer deadline.
According to Spanish media outlet Estadio Deportivo, via BirminghamLive, Gerrard wants to add another centre-back to his squad after the news that Carlos will have to undergo surgery on his injury and is expected to miss the majority of the 2022/23 campaign. Villa's wishlist list is thought to include Holding and former Manchester City defender Jason Denayer.
Arsenal may be willing to allow the 26-year-old defender to leave the club this summer with Ben White, Takehiro Tomiyasu and Kieran Tierney all able to fill in at centre-back if required. White has started the season at right-back due to Saliba's fine form, along with Tomiyasu recovering from injury.
If Holding is to leave the Emirates Stadium, it could see promising youngster Brooke Norton-Cuffy promoted into the first team as a right-back understudy to Tomiyasu. That could result in White moving back centrally to challenge Saliba and Gabriel for a starting spot. Edu may instead look to sign a new centre-back, with Arsenal previously looking at bringing in a left-sided defender to help balance the back line.
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