DONE DEAL: Arsenal officially sign 26-year-old elite striker from top European club for a fee of £116million
Arsenal have reportedly ‘held talks’ over a deal to sign Ajax Amsterdam defender Jorrel Hato, as per transfer journalist Graeme Bailey.
Following Riccardo Calafiori’s arrival last summer and Myles Lewis-Skelly’s emergence, the Gunners are well resourced on their left side of the defence. Jakub Kiwior even showed last term, amid Gabriel Magalhaes’ injury absence, that he is good enough to play at the highest level.
However, on TBR Football, Bailey says that Arsenal are set to part ways with Oleksandr Zinchenko and Kieran Tierney this summer; moreover, Kiwior could also leave to play regularly.
Therefore, the North London club’s new sporting director, Andrea Berta, is willing to hire a new left-sided defender and have earmarked Hato as a serious option.
The Gunners hold a long-term interest in the Dutchman as they have been monitoring his development since he was 15. They were reportedly willing to secure his service last summer but decided to lure Calafiori from Bologna, instead.
Arsenal have ‘held talks’ over a deal to sign Hato this summer, and Ajax could be open to cashing-in on him for a fee of around £40m with his existing deal set to run until 2028.
Hato to Arsenal
However, the journalist says that Chelsea are also in this race and have opened talks over this deal. Liverpool are keen on signing the 19-year-old as well, but their interest isn’t strong enough, and they have been working on a deal to sign Milos Kerkez from AFC Bournemouth.
Arteta likes having versatile players, and most of his defenders are comfortable playing in the centre-back position and the full-back role, with Calafiori, Ben White, and Jurrien Timber among them.
Hato is a similar profile to the trio as he is a left-footed centre-back by trait, but is also efficient in the left-back role. The youngster is a technically gifted player and is comfortable playing out from the back. Moreover, he is efficient in defensive contributions. Therefore, he possesses the necessary attributes to flourish in Arteta’s system.
However, it is going to be interesting to see whether the Emirates club eventually manage to secure his service in this transfer window to strengthen the defensive department.
