Arsenal have reportedly increased their bid to sign Celtic star Odsonne Edouard as they prepare for the possible exit of Alexandre Lacazette before the transfer deadline.
The London side have long had an interest in Edouard and Mikel Arteta is known to be a huge admirer of the 22-year-old forward, who scored 28 goals for Celtic last campaign.
Juventus and Atletico Madrid have both made approaches to sign Lacazette recently and the gunners have identified Edouard as a major target should their No.9 make an exit away from the club this summer.
According to Duncan Castles, while speaking on his Transfer Window podcast, Arsenal made an initial offer of £15m which was rejected by Celtic.
He reports Arsenal have since increased their offer to £20m with add-ons up to the value of £2.5m which would be paid in instalments for a four-year period, just as it is with Tierney and Nicolas Pepe.
Though Arsenal’s bid has been made verbally, the proposal could be formalised if Lacazette’s exit becomes a huge possibility.
According to reports, Lacazette is keen on joining either Juventus or Atleti and Arsenal have responded by slapping a £37m price tag on the striker.
At his press conference on Friday, Arteta played down speculation of a possible exit for Lacazette and said the attacker was really happy to be an Arsenal player.
‘He is really happy here, he wants to keep improving and contributing to the team,’ the Spaniard said. ‘I know how good he is, the impact he is having.
‘He knows about the competition he has with the front players, and again he needs to demand of himself to be the best striker at this football club, the same as the rest.
‘He was very happy to hear that and the way he has been training and conducting himself has been excellent.
‘Yes, I think he is very happy here. That is my feeling and what I got from that message.’
