Arsenal have been linked with a move for Bayern Munich and Germany midfielder and defender Joshua Kimmich. The 29-year-old has for some time been considered one of the best in his nation, and his versatile traits have been lauded with labels of a Philipp Lahm successor.
Pep Guardiola signed him at Bayern, debuted him and sent him on the path to the elite level despite having just one season with him before leaving to join Manchester City. Guardiola began the trend of evolving full-backs, and Mikel Arteta has certainly taken inspiration at Arsenal with how he has used Ben White and Oleksandr Zinchenko in the past two campaigns.
Kimmich would fit seamlessly into this mould and bring experience to a still relatively young side. He will ironically face off against the Gunners in the Champions League next month after Bayern were drawn against Arsenal in the quarter-finals of the competition.
Yet there are questions with the presence of White and the soon-to-return Jurrien Timber of where he would fit in. Arsenal’s midfield remains well-stacked, although a summer departure of Thomas Partey could change that swiftly.
Declan Rice has shown great performances ahead of the No.6 role and there is certainly scope to find the England international a partner for next season. Martin Zubimendi has been linked and football.london understands Arsenal are interested, but the experience of Kimmich might be more attractive to Arteta, as well as the German’s versatility.
With one year remaining on his Bayern contract, his age profile would naturally combine to create a relatively accessible price tag as opposed to the hefty figures paid for Rice and Moises Caicedo recently, for example. However, if there is substantial interest from other top clubs with the likes of Manchester City and Real Madrid also being mentioned in the equation, this could hike up the price.
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For some, the age is an obstacle tricky to overcome. There would be little-to-no sell-on value in a deal for Kimmich and from a personal perspective the price tag would certainly be the determining factor in any move.
Arsenal managed to sign Jorginho from Chelsea for just £12million which has proven to be a stunningly good piece of business by the club. There are discussions ongoing already to extend his time with the club in the form of a new deal, football.london understands.
A deal for Kimmich is clearly about the trade-off between the financial investment and the assurance of quality. He is an elite, world-class player who would add brilliant quality and experience to the team – but only for the right price.
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