Espanyol have pulled out of the race to sign Monaco defender Marcel Tisserand, leaving Arsenal heading the race for his signature.
The 23 year-old had been close to signing for the La Liga side, but the centre-back is now keen on waiting to see the result of the Gunners recent interest in his signature. Espanyol are now looking elsewhere for possible targets.
Monaco are believed to be looking for €5 Million for the Congo international, with the versatile defender having failed to live up to his potential with the club.
Tisserand has played at both centre-back and right-back previously, and it is not known whether he would be viewed to cover the possible sale of Mathieu Debuchy, who is pushing for a move, to cover at centre-back, or both.
The centre-back role has been a huge talking point in North-London so far this season, with Per Mertesacker falling foul of a long-term injury which is set to keep him out until February at least, before Gabriel Paulista followed him onto the crock list a week before the opening weekend.
Youngster Rob Holding’s performance alongside Laurent Koscielny this weekend may have eased the importance of another addition at present, but it was then revealed the France international played the game whilst carrying a knock, and played through the pain barrier after hurting his back the day before the 0-0 draw with Leicester City.
Shkodran Mustafi has been heavily linked with a switch to the Emirates this summer, but the deal looks less and less likely to happen, and Arsenal fans are unlikely to be satisfied with Tisserand coming in to shore up their defence.
Could we seriously be looking to sign the struggling Congolese defender? Could he really be an alternative to Mustafi?