Exclusive: Arsenal interested in star with €100m release clause, transfer could be done for fraction of that

Arsenal and Aston Villa are both seriously interested in the potential transfer of Valencia’s talented young midfielder Javi Guerra.

Despite his €100million release clause, Valencia are currently considering selling him for less than €30m in the near future, CaughtOffside understands.

Guerra, 21, has long been highly regarded in Spanish football, and that has led to occasional links with bigger clubs, even if a move hasn’t materialises so far.

That could change soon, however, with Arsenal stepping up their interest in Guerra as they prepare to potentially make changes in midfield due to a desire to bring in younger replacements for ageing duo Jorginho and Thomas Partey.

Both Jorginho and Partey are out of contract at the Emirates Stadium at the end of this season, and Guerra could be a useful addition to help replace the pair, providing Mikel Arteta with an alternative to the likes of Declan Rice and Mikel Merino in the middle of the park.

Guerra transfer: Valencia star favours Arsenal

Although there is also interest from Villa boss Unai Emery, CaughtOffside understands that Guerra’s preference would be to join Arsenal, largely due to the presence of Gunners manager Arteta, who is widely respected as one of the top young coaches in the game.

Still, this could be an interesting race to watch as Villa are also showing plenty of ambition in the transfer market after enjoying tremendous success under Emery on the pitch.

Villa managed to get into the top four last season, qualifying for the Champions League, so one imagines players like Guerra would surely relish being a part of that exciting project.

Arsenal are also looking like a club going places, though, with Arteta turning them back into serious title contenders once again, while the north London giants also returned to the Champions League last season after a long wait.