Everton manager Rafael Benitez is interested in signing Calum Chambers in January - but only if he can't capture his Arsenal teammate Ainsley Maitland-Niles.
The three-cap England defender, 26, is out of contract in June and has struggled for minutes throughout his seven-and-a-half-year Gunners career.
Chambers has played just 74 Premier League games for Arsenal since joining the club from Southampton in the summer of 2014.
During that time, he's endured loan spells at Middlesbrough and Fulham - which both ended in relegation to the Championship.
Chambers did impress at the latter club, however, winning their Player of the Season award in 2018-19.
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The defender has fallen back down the pecking order in north London following the signing of Takehiro Tomiyasu in August, not making a Premier League matchday squad since September.
And, according to The Sun, Benitez sees the player as cover for experienced right-back and club captain Seamus Coleman.
The Ireland international, 33, has played only four Premier League games so far this term and hasn't racked up more than 30 top-flight appearances in a season since 2014-15.
Chambers is capable of playing anywhere across the back line and, with his contract expiring, it's thought he'll be available for just £5million.
He is one of a number of players who could be available for transfer during the upcoming window, including Eddie Nketiah, Bernd Leno and Folarin Balogun.
However, rumours suggest Benitez's preferred option is to sign Maitland-Niles on loan after failing to complete a deal for the versatile midfielder during the summer.
The five-cap England international, 24, can play anywhere along the midfield and at full-back - making him the perfect replacement for Coleman.
Like Chambers, Maitland-Niles has struggled for minutes under Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta this season, starting just twice in the Premier League.
But one of those was in the Gunners last league outing before the international break and Arteta may be reluctant to let him leave in January, particulaly with the upcoming Africa Cup of Nations.
Ghana midfielder Thomas Partey is set to play in the tournament and finding a replacement in the transfer window could be challenging; it was he whom Maitland-Niles deputised for in the win over Watford.
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The Gunners are also expected to lose midfielder Mohamed Elneny in January, who is reportedly closing in on a move to Turkish side Galatasaray.
When asked about the AFCON in October, Arteta said: "Let’s see where we are at that point, which players we have available and which players definitely have to be there and for how long, because there are some question marks there as well.
"We will find a solution. If they have to leave, they have to leave. We’ll have to find the right replacements for them."
