Arsenal prepared to pay £38m for Romelu Lukaku

Arsenal are prepared to pay £38m for Everton centre forward Romelu Lukaku, according to reports in the Guardian.

The north London side have been looking for a new striker all summer and had agreed a deal with Leicester City – having paid the £21m buy-out clause in Jamie Vardy’s contract, however, the England international rejected the move after concerns about his playing time, as well as the style of play that Arsenal had to offer.

Arsenal are prepared to pay £38m to sign Everton’s Romelu Lukaku. [@guardian] #afc #efc pic.twitter.com/4CYLDzitW7

— Arsenal news (@arsefcnews) July 5, 2016

Having faced the disappointment of rejection from the Premier League winner, Arsene Wenger decided not to dwell and is believed to be looking at a number of other strikers – including Everton’s Lukaku.

The Belgian international has been rather hit or miss over the last couple of seasons but has proven his goalscoring prowess on a number of occasions.

Everton value Lukaku at around £65m but it’s believed they would accept a bid of £40m, although the Gunners could bring that down to as much as £38m.