Arsenal make £6.4m offer to sign 26-year-old from Benfica – report

Arsenal have made a £6.4m offer to sign Alex Grimaldo from Benfica and are now in negotiations with the Portuguese club about the proposed transfer, according to reports.

A Bola, as quoted by The Daily Express, is claiming that the Gunners have now firmed up their interest in landing the 26-year-old full-back this summer as Mikel Arteta searches to bring in cover for Kieran Tierney in his squad.

Reports in recent days claimed that the Gunners were considering making an offer for the Spaniard – and now it would appear that the north Londoners have made their interest in the player concrete by submitting a bit.

The story claims that Arsenal are now in negotiations with Benfica as they look to strike a deal to bring the defender to The Emirates ahead of next season.

According to the same article, Arsenal were initially keen on bringing Ajax defender Lisandro Martinez in this summer but the Gunners have not been able to settle on a price with the Dutch club and are also facing competition from Manchester United for the Argentine’s signature.

That has caused the north Londoners to switch their attentions to Grimaldo as Arteta looks to add some cover at the back ahead of the new campaign.

The story claims that Arsenal have submitted a £6.4m (€7m) bid for the full-back as they attempt to secure what would be their fifth signing of the summer transfer window.

Grimaldo’s contract with Benfica is due to expire next summer so he may be allowed to leave in the current window as the Portuguese club look to avoid losing him for nothing next year.

The full-back came through FC Barcelona’s youth academy and scored six goals in 92 games for the Spanish club’s B Team.

He joined Benfica back in 2015 and has scored 19 goals in 249 games for the Portuguese club, winning three league titles.