Arsenal are set to do battle with Atletico Madrid to try and sign Borussia Dortmund star Julian Brandt, according to reports in Spain.
Both clubs will face off in the Champions League semi-finals over the next fortnight as they look to punch their ticket to the final in Budapest.
But it appears that they will also be rivalling each other in the transfer market this summer to sign Germany international Brandt on a free transfer.
According to Marca, Atletico sporting director Mateu Alemany has kept a close eye on Brandt as the Spanish club seek to find a replacement for the departing Antoine Griezmann.
But Brandt, who has ten goal involvements in 25 Bundesliga matches this season, is also said to be attracting interest from Arsenal ahead of what promises to be another pivotal summer window for the Gunners.
Brandt joined Dortmund in 2019 from Bayer Leverkusen, but is set to leave the German club after seven years having failed to agree terms on a new deal.
‘After open talks, we agreed that the contract that is set to expire would not be renewed,’ Dortmund’s managing director for sport Lars Ricken told Sky Germany last month.
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“[He has] played a few hundred games for Borussia Dortmund. I think we can only feel gratitude towards him.
‘He spent seven years with us and was sometimes viewed critically. Today he set up another goal. I always appreciated his numbers.
‘He’ll turn 30 in a few weeks, and we can look to move in a slightly new direction — so it can also be an opportunity for both sides.’
Speaking earlier this month, Brandt said he had a few options with his next move, and did not rule out staying in the Bundesliga.
‘Let yourself be surprised. There are many ideas, not every idea is good, but there are many ideas,’ Brandt told Sky Germany.
‘In principle, I’m not ruling anything out. But there are things I prefer, and there are things I currently find harder to imagine.
‘As I said: there are one or two ideas, but everything in due course.’
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