Daniele Rugani to Arsenal: What we know so far about transfer interest in Juventus defender

Arsenal face a late scramble to plug the void left by Laurent Koscielny after the captain departed for Bordeaux on Tuesday.

The Gunners agreed to the £4.6million sale of Koscielny after he refused to go on their pre-season tour and told the club he was not willing to see out the final year of his contract at Emirates Stadium.

Unai Emery has already added centre-back William Saliba this summer, but the terms of that transfer mean he will return on loan to Saint-Etienne before joining up with his new Arsenal team-mates next summer.

It leaves Emery looking for central defensive reinforcements with less than 48 hours to go until the summer transfer window closes in England.

Emery has identified both RB Leipzig's Dayot Upamecano and Juventus centre-back Daniele Rugani as possible Koscielny replacements but Arsenal are restricted by their modest budget.

Here's what we know so far...

Who else is interested?

AFP/Getty Images

Wolves have emerged as Arsenal's main competition in the race to sign Rugani, with their Premier League rivals reportedly launching a £30m offer for his services this week.

Chelsea supporters will recall that the seven-cap Italian international was also a key summer target of theirs in 2018.

A £44.2m deal was offered to Juve along with wages of around £80,000 a week to the player, who ultimately rejected a move in order to fight for his place in Turin.

Interestingly former Chelsea boss Maurizio Sarri is now getting the opportunity to work with Rugani after being appointed as Bianconeri coach in June - so that could potentially be a factor in any decision.

However, it is also worth noting that Rugani - who made only 15 appearances in Serie A last term - has been pushed further down the central defensive pecking order at Juventus by the arrival of Matthijs de Ligt from Ajax earlier this summer.

They also have the likes of Giorgio Chiellini, Leonardo Bonucci and Merih Demiral currently on the books.

Is the deal close?

Standard Sport's James Olley understands that Arsenal were locked in talks with Juventus on Wednesday morning, with the club believing that Rugani is eager to join their ranks.

The Gunners are keen to explore a loan with a view to buy or - as they did with the club-record £72m purchase of Ivorian winger Nicolas Pepe from Lille - stagger payments in a permanent deal.

Reports from Italy suggesting that a £70,000-a-week basic wage has already been agreed with Rugani have yet to be confirmed.

In Pictures | Nicolas Pepe joins Arsenal | 01/08/2019

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How much will he cost?

Juventus want approximately £40m to sell Rugani permanently after signing De Ligt.

What about the Dayot Upamecano deal?

Bongarts/Getty Images

Arsenal have also made enquiries relating to Upamecano.

However, they have been quoted a price of around £70m for the Frenchman, with Leipzig taking notice of the massive fees commanded by the likes of fellow centre-backs Virgil van Dijk and Harry Maguire when setting that valuation.

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