AS Monaco to challenge Gunners for attacking midfielder.
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Arsenal are set to a battle with wealthy French club AS Monaco if they want to secure the signing of Brazilian attacking midfielder Douglas Costa, with the Daily Star reporting that the Ligue 1 runners-up have made their move for the player.
Former Gremio star Costa plays for Ukrainian club Shakhtar Donetsk, but is reportedly reluctant to return to the club for the new season due to the ongoing conflict in the region between pro-Russian separatists and Ukrainian government forces.
The report suggests that Monaco are ready to offer a way out of Donetsk for both Costa and his Brazilian teammate Alex Teixeira, offering a combined fee of around £50 million for the pair as they look to prepare for life without star man James Rodriguez, who has joined Real Madrid.
This would be likely to blow Arsenal out of the water, with the Gunners believed to be preparing a bid of around £15.8m for Costa, a figure that is likely to undervalue him compared to his portion of the potential Monaco transfer.
The move for Costa would indicate that manager Arsene Wenger is still keen to bring another attacking midfield option to the Emirates Stadium, despite the arrival of Alexis Sanchez from Barcelona, perhaps indicating that Santi Cazorla could be set for a return to La Liga.
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