Amadou Onana is wanted by Arsenal and Chelsea (Getty)
Chelsea are in the race with Arsenal to sign Everton midfielder Amadou Onana, according to reports in Belgium.
The Gunners have already opened talks with Everton over a deal for the 22-year-old this month as Mikel Arteta looks to bolster his midfield options.
However, Nieuwsblad Sport reports that Arsenal are facing competition from Chelsea, who are also keeping tabs on the Belgium international’s situation at Everton.
The report claims that Arsenal are the club who have registered the strongest interest in Onana and are now considering an offer to sign the midfielder before the end of the January transfer window.
However, it’s understood that Everton will hold out for a £50m fee for Onana, who they signed in a £33m deal from Lille in August 2022.
That valuation is likely to cause an issue for Arsenal as their January transfer budget is restricted due to concerns over the Premier League’s Financial Fair Play regulations.
Everton are demanding a £50m fee for Amadou Onana (Getty)
Arsenal are also facing strong calls to sign a new striker in January after they failed to find the target in their 2-0 loss to Liverpool in the FA Cup on Sunday.
The Gunners have held initial discussions for Ivan Toney but Brentford are demanding around £80m for the 27-year-old, who scored 20 goals in the Premier League last season.
However, Arteta has already dampened expectations of Arsenal signing a new striker this month.
‘At the moment, it doesn’t look realistic,’ Arteta told beIN Sports after Arsenal’s defeat to Liverpool.
‘What my job is and what we have to do is improve our players and try to get somewhere with the players we have and get better results.
‘One thing is what we need and another is what we can do. What we can do is stick behind those players and make sure we stick behind those players.’
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Trouble for the Gunners.