Exclusive: Arsenal planning talks in next few days over potential €35million signing

Arsenal are among the clubs set to hold initial talks with Rennes over the potential transfer of exciting young attacking midfielder Desire Doue, CaughtOffside understands.

Sources with a close understanding of the player’s situation have informed CaughtOffside that he has been scouted closely by Arsenal in recent times, along with other top clubs such as Manchester United, Aston Villa, Bayer Leverkusen, Borussia Dortmund, Napoli and Real Madrid.

Doue has impressed in Ligue 1 and it is now anticipated that he could seal a big move soon, even if Rennes are not keen to let the talented 18-year-old go, with an offer in the region of €35m perhaps enough to change their minds.

Sources have told CaughtOffside that Arsenal, Leverkusen and Napoli are now the three teams set to step up their interest and ask Rennes about Doue in the next few days as they seek to gather information on the potential deal.

Doue transfer: Wonderkid midfielder to help Arsenal’s title charge?

Arsenal came very close to winning the Premier League title in 2023/24 but missed out to Manchester City on the final day of the season, with just two points separating the teams in the end.

While it’s hard to find a weakness in Mikel Arteta’s squad, there is surely a case for saying they could do with someone to provide a bit more spark from midfield at times, as they lack enough of a goal threat when things are not quite going their way.

The Gunners often dominate teams and eventually punish them due to the quality of the chances they create, but Doue could perhaps be someone to add a bit of an X-factor to the side, while he’s also an exciting long-term option who could perform at the highest level for the next decade or more.

Still, it remains to be seen if the Frenchman would instantly get regular playing time at Arsenal, so one imagines he might be tempted to listen to the likes of Leverkusen and Napoli as well.