Arsenal remain hopeful of completing a deal for Ivan Perisic before Thursday’s transfer deadline.
The Gunners have had an initial offer of a loan with an option to buy rejected by the Italian club but talks were continuing today with a willingness on all sides to find an agreement.
Perisic has handed in a transfer request and Inter are ready to sell but want £35million for the 29-year-old.
Man Utd have longstanding interest in the Croatian, but Standard Sport understands that they are not expect to rival the Gunners for his signature following Jose Mourinho’s sacking last month.
Arsenal head coach Unai Emery confirmed earlier this month that the club can only afford loan deals until the summer but their offer of a £3.5m loan fee with a view to making the deal permanent was dismissed.
Inter have insisted the deal contains a firm agreement the Gunners will sign Perisic. However, by way of a compromise, they are demanding Arsenal commit to a permanent deal if the winger plays a set number of games during the second half of this season.
Perisic is keen on a move to the Premier League and Emery wants to sign at least one player this month but they have hit a similar stumbling block as in their pursuits of Barcelona’s Denis Suarez and Paris Saint-Germain’s Christopher Nkunku.
James Rodriguez, on loan at Bayern Munich from Real Madrid, remains a more straightforward alternative but Arsenal have not pursued a deal yet in part because Emery already has Aaron Ramsey and Mesut Ozil to fill a number ten role.
Ramsey is expected to join Juventus on a free transfer at the end of the season but there remains a slim possibility a deal could be agreed this month.
The Gunners are also scouring the market for centre-back options as they continue to be stretched defensively. Aside from being knocked out of the FA Cup on Friday night by Manchester United, they lost Sokratis Papastathopoulos for a month with an ankle injury while Laurent Koscielny is still being assessed after being taken to hospital with a jaw problem.
X-rays confirmed Koscielny has not suffered a fracture but he is unlikely to recover in time for Tuesday’s Premier League home game against Cardiff. Shkodran Mustafi and Nacho Monreal are available to step in with Stephan Lichtsteiner also fit.
