Arsenal have targeted Manchester United’s Eric Bailly and Chelsea’s Gary Cahill as they seek to replace the injured Rob Holding in January, according to reports.
Holding ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament during Arsenal’s 2-2 draw at Manchester United last week, and the centre-back is expected to be out of action for the remainder of the season.
The 23-year-old had done remarkably well to establish himself a key figure under Unai Emery, the Arsenal manager, starting nine Premier League matches in a row before suffering his serious injury.
Despite Laurent Koscielny edging closer to a comeback from his own extended absence due to an Achilles problem, Emery and his staff want to bring a new centre-half to the Emirates in January.
And, according to ESPN, the Gunners are keeping a close eye on two of their Premier League rivals with under a month to go until the transfer window reopens on January 1.
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Bailly, the Ivory Coast international, is reportedly frustrated at Manchester United having fallen out of favour under Jose Mourinho, while Cahill, a multiple trophy winner with Chelsea, will be allowed to leave Stamford Bridge next month ahead of becoming a free agent at the end of the season.
Chelsea want to reward Cahill for his excellent service since joining the Blues in 2012, and they will not stand in the way of a loan move which will signal the end of his career with the west Londoners; Chelsea did similar when Petr Cech joined Arsenal in 2015.
Manchester United, on the other hand, want to keep hold of Bailly. The Old Trafford club are believed to be open to selling Argentina international Marcos Rojo, however.