Arsenal transfer news: Gunners want Duvan Zapata but 'many' teams are interested, claims Udinese president

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Tom Doyle28 May 2016

Arsenal have made contact with Udinese over Duvan Zapata but the striker has received 'many offers', according to the Italian club's president Franco Soldati.

Colombian forward Zapata is one year into a two-year loan deal with Udinese, though Napoli have the option of recalling the 25-year-old this summer.

Arsenal have made their first signing of the summer, with Granit Xhaka agreeing a long-term contract with the Gunners having signed from Borussia Monchengladbach in a deal thought to be worth just under £34 million.

But Arsene Wenger has already confirmed he will be looking to add a new striker given concerns over Olivier Giroud's reliability in front of goal, as well as Danny Welbeck's long-term knee injury effectively ruling the England international out for all but the tail-end of next season.

Zapata scored eight goals in 24 Serie A appearances on loan for Udinese last season, and says that while he would like to keep the striker for next season, he acknowledges that interest of clubs such as Arsenal could make that difficult.

“There is a clause that allows Napoli to recall him early from the two-year loan,” Soldati is reported as telling Radio Kiss Kiss.

“He is very happy in Udine, his agent said that too and I hope he can remain with our jersey.

“He also received many offers from abroad, including from Arsenal. However, first we want coach Beppe Iachini to get to know the team so they can make shared decisions."

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