Arsenal and Liverpool inquire about Bundesliga star as £50m fee revealed
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Arsenal and Liverpool have reportedly made inquiries for Eintracht Frankfurt defender Willian Pacho ahead of what could be a blockbuster summer transfer.
The centre-back has spent just a year in the Bundesliga but has already proven to be one of the division’s top talents and attracted interest from the Premier League. Frankfurt have set an approximate price tag of £51m on Pacho after being made aware of interest from Arsenal and Liverpool.
With over four years left on his contract, Frankfurt will be aware that they hold all the cards in any negotiations as Europe’s elite circle following a stellar debut season for Pacho. The Gunners are likely to be interested in adding competition for Gabriel and William Saliba, having been rocked by an injury to the Frenchman last season which derailed their title bid.
The likes of Ben White, Takehiro Tomiasu and Jakub Kiwior can fill in at centre-back, but are often required at full-back. While Liverpool are set to lose Joel Matip when his contract expires this summer and have been forced to rely on youngster Jarrell Quansah amid Ibrahima Konate’s fitness woes.
The Reds, who are on the lookout for a successor to Jurgen Klopp, will also harbour fears that captain Virgil van Dijk may opt against extending his contract which currently ends in 2025. German outlet Bild also claim that Frankfurt have begun sounding out potential replacements for Pacho, hinting further that he may leave Germany this summer.
Koln defender Julian Chabot is of interest in addition to PAOK’s Konstantinos Koulierakis. Pacho came through the same youth academy as Chelsea’s Moises Caicedo at Independiente del Valle, where he starred as they lifted the Ecuadorian league title for the first-ever time in 2021.
He then made the switch to Royal Antwerp and often partnered former Tottenham defender Toby Alderweireld at the back, impressing especially in the Europa League and attracting interest from Premier League teams including West Ham and Crystal Palace. However, Pacho opted to move to Frankfurt instead to replace the outgoing Evan Ndicka and partner on-loan Leeds man Robin Koch, where he has starred to such an extent that the likes of Arsenal and Liverpool have come calling.
Though Frankfurt are demanding at least £40m of profit to let Pacho leave after less than a year, they will be in an even stronger financial position should they beat the likes of Augsburg and Freiburg to Europa Conference League football next season.
