Arsenal interested in Jeremie Frimpong

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has no intention of putting the brakes on his lavish summer spending as he looks keen to complete another high-cost signing.

Less than 24 hours since agreeing transfer fees for Jurrien Timber and Declan Rice, the Gunners have joined AC Milan and Manchester United in the race to sign Bayer Leverkusen full-back Jeremie Frimpong.

According to football.london, a list of relevant interested parties eager to prise the highly-rated 22-year-old away from the BayArena is growing each passing day.

Following the completion of Kai Havertz’s arrival from Chelsea, last season’s Premier League runners-up are close to getting two more lucrative deals over the line.

Rice’s move from West Ham United should warrant a British-record transfer fee of £100 million plus £5m in add-ons, while Timber’s signature comes with an initial £34.3m price tag.

If everything goes as expected, the duo’s imminent arrivals will take the Londoners’ total summer outlay to around £208m inside the opening few days of the transfer window.

But Arteta believes there’s still enough room in the budget to pursue the signing of Frimpong, who has been on Man Utd’s shortlist for months and only recently attracted interest from Milan.

Considering the Dutchman’s eye-catching exploits at Leverkusen last term, there’s no doubt he could be a valuable piece of the puzzle at the Emirates Stadium next season.

However, Arsenal appear well-covered at the right-back, with Ben White, Cedric Soares and Takehiro Tomiyasu already challenging each other for a starting berth.

The former was an omnipresent figure in Arteta’s line-up last season, with the latter experiencing another injury-troubled campaign, which could be a reason behind the Gunners’ interest in the Leverkusen star.

Frimpong could take the next step in his career over the next few weeks, but unless he receives insurance over his playing time, he’d be inclined to reject any approach from Arsenal.

It means Soares or Tomiyasu should leave first, given White has cemented his place in the first team after a brilliant season.