Arsenal hold talks over £30m swoop for Freiburg ace Caglar Soyuncu

ARSENAL are reportedly weighing up a bid for £30million-rated Freiburg defender Caglar Soyuncu.

The Gunners’ defence is a laughing stock and Arsene Wenger will be a man down when Per Mertesacker retires to become the club’s academy manager.

And Soyuncu, 21, is said to have been identified as a long-term solution to solve their shambolic defence.

The Mail report head of recruitment Sven Mislintat has been impressed by the centre-back, who has also caught the eye of Chelsea, Liverpool, both Manchester clubs and Roma.

Arsenal sent scouts to watch Soyuncu in action for his club earlier this season.

They were again in attendance for his country’s 1-0 win over the Republic of Irelandlast week.

Bundesliga outfit Freiburg are expected to drive a hard bargain, however, and could want in excess of £30m.

They battled Sevilla and Besiktas to sign Soyuncu from second-tier Turkish outfit Altinordu for just £2.4m in 2016.

Thirteen-cap Soyuncu has gone on to display an all-round defensive game to rival the Bundesliga’s best blockers – with comparisons drawn to Mats Hummels.