According to The Express, Arsenal want to sign Napoli centre-back Kalidou Koulibaly in this summer's transfer window.
What's the story?
Arsenal are yet to announce Arsene Wenger's replacement, but whoever arrives at the Emirates Stadium will have a serious job on their hands to reinstall the Gunners as a top-four team.
The capital outfit actually have a whole host of attacking talent, but they are simply not good enough in a defensive area, and at least two new defenders need to arrive this summer.
According to The Express, the Gunners have pinpointed Koulibaly as the perfect player to bring both a presence and indeed quality to the backline ahead of the 2018-19 campaign.
Chelsea were previously strongly linked with a move for the centre-back, but the former English champions could not come to an agreement with Napoli, who might well lose their manager Maurizio Sarri to the Blues this summer.
Would Koulibaly be a good signing?
The 26-year-old is under contract at Napoli until the summer of 2021, and it is understood that the Italian giants value the defender in excess of £50m.
Arsenal might well have been able to afford that sum if they had secured a return to the Champions League, but their failure to win the Europa League means that they will again be absent from Europe's leading competition next term.
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The simple fact of the matter is that Arsenal's new boss will not have hundreds of millions to spend this summer, and paying in excess of £50m for a centre-back is a huge risk.
That said, Koulibaly is an outstanding talent, and would certainly boost a defence that conceded 51 Premier League goals during the 2017-18 campaign.
Per Mertesacker's retirement and Laurent Koscielny's long-term Achilles problem has strengthened Arsenal's need in that area of the field, and Koulibaly has had another wonderful season at Napoli - making 44 appearances in all competitions.
Money is a problem when it comes to this particular deal, however, and it is very difficult to see the move taking place under the current terms.