Arsenal make contact with Everton over the availability of Amadou Onana

Arsenal made contact with Everton on the opening day of the summer transfer window over the availability of midfielder Amadou Onana, according to Liverpool Echo.

The Gunners have had the 22-year-old Belgian on their radar for a while and are now keen to know what it will take to recruit his services.

Everton would want at least £50 million to sell Onana and they are yet to get back to Arsenal following the initial contact on Friday.

The Gunners manager Mikel Arteta admires the Belgium international and is a huge fan of his style of play and qualities.

Onana impressed in the 1-0 Premier League win over the North Londoners at Goodison Park in February 2023, and he was a major topic of conversation within the Arsenal dressing room after the final whistle.

They could be without Thomas Partey next season and are already scouring the market for a quality replacement, and a player with Premier League experience like the Everton star will be perfect for them.

However, Arsenal are not the only club keeping tabs on Onana, with Newcastle United, Manchester United, Barcelona and Bayern Munich also monitoring the situation.

The Toffees were punished twice last season for not complying with the Profit and Sustainability Regulations of the English top-flight, with their league points deducted on both occasions, and they have to sell one of their big-money players as soon as possible to avoid another punishment.

It could play into the hands of Arsenal who could follow up their initial contact with a bid, and bolstering their midfield with such a quality player will help boost their title chances going forward.

They will need to sell Partey and some other fringe players to raise funds for the pursuit of Onana and other summer targets given their own need to keep balancing the books, and the fans will hope they end up recruiting players that will significantly improve the team.