Sokratis tipped for Arsenal exit while Vlachodimos linked with Italian move
According to reports, Sokratis Papastathopoulos is poised to leave Arsenal in the upcoming transfer window, while Benfica are receiving plenty of Italian interest in Odisseas Vlachodimos.
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During his second season as an Arsenal player, Papastathopoulos has produced somewhat shaky performances for the Gunners in the centre of defence, regularly receiving criticism from the supporters. If reports from England are to be believed, Mikel Arteta doesn’t have Papastathopoulos in his plans for the 2020/2021 campaign, meaning that the 31-year-old is likely to leave the Londoners in the summer. Shkodran Mustafi, Sead Kolasinac, Mohamed Elneny, and Henrikh Mkhitaryan have also been heavily linked with an Arsenal departure in the off-season.
Arsenal signed Papastathopoulos for 16 million euros from Borussia Dortmund in July 2018.
In the 2019/2020 season, Papastathopoulos made 27 appearances across all competitions for Arsenal, scoring three goals. The campaign is currently paused indefinitely as a result of the devastating coronavirus pandemic.
VLACHODIMOS LINKED WITH ITALIAN TRANSFER
In other news, Odisseas Vlachodimos has attracted interest from Serie A, with national media revealing that both Internazionale and Napoli are eager to sign the gifted goalkeeper after the current season reaches its completion.
However, if Benfica are going to sell the 25-year-old Greek international, interested clubs must submit a minimum offer of 20 million. Transfermarkt values Vlachodimos at 15 million.
Vlachodimos is under contract at Benfica until June 2024.
This season, Vlachodimos has participated in a grand total of 35 games for Benfica in all tournaments, conceding 33 goals and registering 16 clean sheets. Vlachodimos has been the team’s starting goalkeeper since he transferred from Panathinaikos two years ago.
