After Losing Schneiderlin To Man United, Arsenal Set To Sign £25m Liverpool Target

It was the end of an era at Liverpool this season. Their captain, legend and perhaps the greatest ever player, Steven Gerrard, departed after a 26 year association with the club. Replacing him was always going to be a tough proposition for any manager, let alone current Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers who had seemingly lost the club’s confidence after some horrible displays at the end of the season.

Several successors and long-term replacements for the outgoing Scouser were mentioned. Among them was mentioned the name of Real Madrid’s Asier Illarramendi , who has failed to make an impact at the Bernabeu since signing in a €35 million deal from Real Sociedad in 2013. He has been mostly on the bench in this duration, and has failed to make the most of whatever opportunities he has had. New Real Madrid boss is reportedly prepared to offload the 25-year-old this summer as he looks to mold the Capital side in his image.

Liverpool were frequently mentioned as his next destination amid reports that the Reds were interested in signing him to replace Gerrard for the long term. However, that may be about to change as recent reports have indicated that Arsenal have now entered the race for his signature.

The Gunners have seemingly lost out to Manchester United in the race for Morgan Schneiderlin and are reverting to Illarramendi as their fall-back option. Arsene Wenger is on the lookout for a defensive midfielder to replace the ageing duo of Mikel Arteta and Mathieu Flamini and provide competition to Francis Coquelin.

The Spanish midfielder , who made 30 appearances for Los Blancos last term in the league, is a good fit for Arsenal midfield. However, any deal for the promising midfielder will hinge on Real’s valuation of the 25-year-old .