Fernando Llorente to Arsenal: Gunners 'move ahead' of Manchester United and Real Madrid in battle for Juventus striker

Llorente is being strongly linked with a move away from Juventus this summer and reports in Italy have marked out Arsenal as the most likely destination

Fernando Llorente has been linked with a move to Manchester United (Getty Images)

Arsenal have entered the battle to sign Juventus striker Fernando Llorente despite the Spain international emerging on Manchester United's radar this summer.

Llorente faces an uncertain future at the Italian league champions, given that he has struggled to make an impact during his time at Juventus after falling behind Carlos Tevez and Alvaro Morata in Massimiliano Allegri’s pecking order.

With Tevez leaving the club in order to return to his homeland after re-joining Boca Juniors, there looks to be a vacancy in the Allegri’s first-team plans, but the £23m addition of Paulo Dybala is likely to see Llorente frustrated further as he is limited to appearances from the substitutes’ bench and in cup competitions.

Reports emerged on Thursday that United manager Louis van Gaal’s “mystery” striker that he is intent on signing in the coming weeks was Llorente, but Italian newspaper Tuttosport suggests that Arsenal are leading the race to land the 30-year-old striker.

Llorente would not cost a huge fee with the expectation that Juventus will be happy to sell for around £8.5m having landed him on a free transfer from Athletic Bilbao on a free transfer two years ago.

Llorente has been linked with a move to United (Getty Images)

Capped 23 times by Spain in which he has cored seven goals, Llorente has been linked with a move back to his homeland with interest coming from Real Madrid’s new manager Rafael Benitez, but the Spanish giants are yet to make a move for Llorente and could wait to see the outcome of Arsenal’s interest in Karim Benzema before making a final decision.