Arsenal could outbid a major European club in the race for a highly-rated £42 million defender, who may well replace the potentially exit-bound Jakub Kiwior.

Edu looking at signing new centre-back for Arteta

According to various reports in the last few weeks, sporting director Edu and manager Mikel Arteta have been tipped to bring in a new central defensive option ahead of a likely Premier League title challenge with Man City next season.

Arteta is looking to make it third-time-lucky in his pursuit of the title, having lost out to City in each of their two previous challenges since 2022. The Gunners pushed Pep Guardiola's side to the final day, accumulating 89 points and scoring 91 goals, but their rivals have set an incredibly high standard to beat in recent years.

To take the squad that bit further, Edu has been targeting a new striker for Arsenal, as well as a potential new midfielder to replace the exit-bound Thomas Partey. Arsenal are believed to hold an interest in Amadou Onana, among others, with Partey attracting serious interest from the Middle East and Turkey.

However, it has also been reported that Arteta wishes to acquire an alternative to star central defensive duo Gabriel Magalhaes and William Saliba. Arsenal conceded the fewest Premier League goals of any top-flight side last season, with Gabriel and Saliba being a factor in this.

You could make a case that there are few options to come in if either of the pair were to be absent, though, which has led to interest in a variety of central defensive options. Arsenal have been considering a bid for Marc Guehi, with the Crystal Palace ace currently impressing for England at Euro 2024.

Elsewhere, Nottingham Forest star Murillo and Barcelona star Jules Kounde are other reported targets for Edu. A highly rated defender in Serie A who has also turned heads with some excellent displays for Italy at the Euros is Bologna star Riccardo Calafiori.

The 22-year-old was even hailed by World Cup winner Gianluca Zambrotta for his "extraordinary" performance against Albania in their opening group game.

“He played an extraordinary game, like the whole team in the first 60 minutes,” said Zambrotta.

"He played with personality, without fear, perhaps the only flaw was on the long ball where we took a risk with Donnarumma’s exit. But he showed some beautiful things.”

His performances on the biggest stage will only increase his price tag, which is already rumoured to be somewhere around the £42 million mark.

Arsenal could outbid Juventus to replace Kiwior with Calafiori

According to Tutto Juve, the Gunners present a very real danger to Juventus in the race to sign Calafiori this summer.

It is believed Arsenal see Calafiori as an ideal option to replace Kiwior, who Tutto Juve states could well leave. It is also thought that they can offer more money than Juventus and potentially outbid the Old Lady, who are counting on Calafiori's preference to remain in Italy.

The centre-back was a star under Thiago Motta at Bologna last term, with the tactician now looking to prise him away to Juventus after choosing to replace Massimiliano Allegri.

Calafiori made 30 Serie A appearances for Bologna over 2023/24, managing two goals and five assists in that time.