Arsenal's attempts to hijack Manchester United midfield target William Carvalho has been dealt a blow, after Sporting Lisbon reportedly rejected a €30 million offer from the north London outfit.
The Gunners, who are looking to sign a defensive midfielder to strength their team, were heavily linked to Real Madrid's Sami Khedira, even though the German's agent insisted that Arsenal had not made an approach for his client.
United had previously been linked to Carvalho, who has been in terrific form both for the club as well as the national team. However, the Red Devils' decided to look at other options after it was revealed that the 22-year-old had a massive €45m buyout clause in his contract with Sporting.
But after the Red Devils gave up on the pursuit of Carvalho, Arsenal have now lined up a bid for the Portuguese midfielder. A report from O Jogo (Portuguese publication) claims that Sporting have turned down a €30 million offer from the Gunners for Carvalho, who still has four years remaining in his contract.
The €30 million bid from Arsenal was a little odd, considering Sporting have made it clear that they would not accept anything less than the full amount in Carvalho's buyout clause.
Now it will be interesting to see whether the Gunners will meet the amount in the Portuguese international's buyout clause or give up the chase.
Arsenal may still be willing to meet the €45 million asking price for the Portuguese as Arsene Wenger claims that the Gunners are still looking to bring in more players this summer.
Despite having already secured the signatures of Alexis Sanchez (Barcelona) and Mathieu Debuchy (Newcastle United) for a total fee of around £44 million, Wenger insists that he will bring in more players to improve Arsenal's chances in the Premier League and other competitions next season.
"Look, I can't give you any names," said Wenger, when asked about his summer transfer targets. "You're never sure if you can do what you want, but we're still out there to strengthen our squad."
However, the Frenchman confirmed that he will bring in a new goalkeeper, following the departure of Lukasz Fabianski to Swansea City on a free transfer.
"I will bring in a goalkeeper for sure," he added.
