Arsenal have earmarked Benfica defender Ruben Dias as a potential transfer target this summer, claims The Daily Mail.
The Gunners have been rocked by Laurent Koscielny’s desire to leave the club after the Arsenal captain refused to travel on their pre-season tour of the United States.
Koscielny wants his current £100,000-a-week deal, which has one year left to run, terminated in order to secure a move back to France.
Unai Emery’s side have denied Koscielny’s request and have instead slapped a €10m (£8.8m) asking price on the veteran’s head amid interest from Bordeaux.
Arsenal are currently locked in talks to sign Saint-Etienne starlet William Saliba but any deal would only see the teenager move to the Emirates next summer.
The Gunners are now sounding out potential transfer targets to join the club this summer and have rekindled their interest in 22-year-old Benfica centre-back Dias.
Manchester United have also been linked with a move for the Portugal international, who has a £54m release clause in his current Benfica deal.
Arsenal are working off a restricted budget this summer and Dias’ release clause would leave them with no money to strengthen elsewhere.
It would require Benfica accepting a lower fee or Arsenal structuring the deal in a way where they would not pay the full amount this summer.
Only Benfica team-mate Alejandro Grimaldo (1954) attempted more passes than Dias (1865) in Liga NOS last season.
