Ryan Bertrand in talks with Leicester as Arsenal receive update on left back situation



Leicester are leading the way to sign Ryan Bertrand after holding talks with the former Southampton defender, football.london understands.

31-year-old Bertrand is a free agent after his contract with the Saints expired earlier this month, and Arsenal were one of the teams who had monitored the former Chelsea defender over the past few months.

The Gunners are in the market for a left-back this summer to provide back-up to Kieran Tierney next season, with Sead Kolasinac expected to leave the club permanently as and is currently in talks with a number of teams.

Bertrand played on both flanks last season and is considered a versatile option for Foxes manager Brendan Rodgers, who already has a close relationship with the player from their time together at Chelsea.

Scotland Under-18 international Josh Doig is also liked by Arsenal but football.london has learnt that Emirates Stadium is now unlikely to be his final destination this summer.

Mikel Arteta remains an admirer of Crystal Palace left back Tyrick Mitchell, although the 21-year-old signed a new long-term contract last month.

Mitchell joined from Brentford in 2016 and has worked his way up to the first team after impressing for the Under-18 and Under-23s, but it would take a significant player plus cash offer for Palace to sell their star defender.

Meanwhile, Roma are confident of signing Granit Xhaka after the Swiss midfielder signalled that he is willing to leave Arsenal this summer, football.london understands.

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The Gunners have told Roma that the starting point for negotiations will begin at £20million, with two years remaining on Xhaka’s current contract, and are keen to wrap up any deal before he heads off to the Euro 2020 with Switzerland in less than a fortnight’s time.

Arsenal are looking to raise in excess of £60million with player sales this summer, and need to sell before they can buy, with Norwich midfielder Emi Buendia at the top of their wishlist.





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