Report: Arsenal close in on Sokratis Papastathopoulos

Arsenal are close to sealing a deal for Borussia Dortmund centre-back Sokratis Papastathopoulos, according to a report.

The Gunners are understood to be in direct competition with Premier League rivals Manchester United for the 29-year-old's signature.

Sokratis is out of contract at the Westfalenstadion next year but could still attract a fee of around £17.5m, with Chelsea and Juventus also rumoured to have made their interest known in the past.

German outlet Bild suggests that Arsenal are the side leading the way, as head of recruitment Sven Mislintat is pushing for a move to go through and is in talks with the player's agent Konstantinos Farras.

Ahead of a big summer for the North London outfit, Mislintat is also said to have targeted a new goalkeeper and a new central midfielder.