Earlier on Thursday, there was a claim in Spain that Arsenal and Chelsea could be taking an interest in Alex Baena.
The winger has been in fine form for Villarreal since returning from his loan at Girona, scoring six goals and assisting another two for the La Liga side in 10 appearances to date.
Fichajes.net were the ones bringing Arsenal and Chelsea into the mix, explaining there was no way of ‘ruling out the appearance’ of the London duo in a possible transfer battle for the 21-year-old.
That suggested the Gunners and the Blues were looking from afar, but Sport then come in with their own article on the matter, claiming the Premier League clubs ‘have been interested’ in the Villarreal star.
As things stand, the player is contracted until 2025 and has a release clause of around €35m, which isn’t exactly enough to ward off big clubs like Arsenal and Chelsea.
That’s why they would be ‘considering shielding’ the forward with a new contract that would raise the value of the clause.
By doing this, they would ‘try to ensure’ the footballer continues at Villarreal ‘for at least two or three more seasons’.
Baena is not the only Villarreal forward Arsenal have been linked with in recent months, as Mikel Arteta’s side have reportedly been after Yéremy Pino as well.
As for Chelsea, the interest in Rafael Leao suggests the Blues want to bolster the left hand side of their attack with a new inside forward, and Baena could be a more affordable option than the Milan star.
