Transfer news: Arsenal stall on Shkodran Mustafi fee, Liverpool block Christian Benteke exit, Cesc Fabregas latest

The biggest transfer news and speculation on Tuesday 16 August

Arsenal have agreed personal terms with Valencia defender Shodran Mustafi after negotiating a deal with his agent, but have reached a stalemate in negotiations with Arsene Wenger reluctant to meet the £30m asking price.

Wenger has made no secret of his desire to sign a new defender and a striker before the closure of the transfer window, but so far his efforts have come up short and left his side exposed in Sunday’s 4-3 defeat by Liverpool.

Mustafi emerged on Arsenal’s radar last month, but after making initial enquiries with his agent, Ali Bulut, the transfer appeared to be put on the back-burner. However, injuries to Per Mertesacker and Gabriel Paulista have led Wenger to reignite his interest, and Sky Sports reports that a deal has been reached between Arsenal, Mustafi and Bulut over personal terms.

However, the Daily Mail claims that Arsenal are yet to reach an agreement with Valencia and are reluctant to sign off the £30m that the Spanish club are demanding. 24-year-old Mustafi has a £42.1m release clause in his contract, and while Valencia are willing to let him leave this summer after two years in Spain, they do not want to sell for less than the asking price.

Sky Sports adds that should Arsenal fail to make any headway in their pursuit of Mustafi, then they will also target Fenerbahce’s Danish defender Simon Kjaer and Turkisg centre-back Omer Toprak, who currently plays in Germany for Bayer Leverkusen.

Liverpool meanwhile are currently blocking Crystal Palace’s move for striker Christian Benteke after rejecting their initial offer of £23m + £7m in add-ons. Palace now have the funds to pursue the 25-year-old forward after selling Yannick Bolasie to Everton for £25m on Monday, but The Telegraph reports that Liverpool are standing firm on their £32m valuation of Benteke.

The Belgium international is out of favour with Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp, and with Roberto Firmino, Divock Origi and Daniel Sturridge ahead of him in the pecking order, he will be allowed to leave if their valuation is met.

Reports in Spain suggest that Cesc Fabregas is considering a move away from Chelsea after being left on the substitutes’ bench for the season-opening victory over West Ham on Monday night. With new manager Antonio Conte electing to send on Pedro and Victor Moses ahead of Fabregas, the Spain international was left looking glum faced as he watched the match play out at Stamford Bridge, and Spanish newspaper Sport claims that Fabregas is weighing up his future in London.

The report goes on to suggest that Real Madrid are considering a surprise move for the 29-year-old, although whether the Barcelona-born Spaniard would consider playing for the fierce rivals of his hometown club remains to be seen.

Manchester City look poised to continue their summer transfer business with eyes on a move for Barcelona goalkeeper Claudio Bravo, and reports in Spain claim that the 33-year-old has already agreed personal terms to become Pep Guardiola’s eighth signing since he replaced Manuel Pellegrini.

Mundo Deportivo claims that Bravo has held talks over a move to City, and that Barcelona are willing to sell the goalkeeper if they can identify a replacement that will provide back-up to Germany stopper Marc-Andre ter Stegen. A move for Bravo will likely signal the end of Joe Hart’s career at City, with Guardiola expected to sell him after choosing Willy Cabellero to start their Premier League opener against Sunderland on Saturday.

Yaya Toure is also expected to be available this summer, but The Express claims that Toure wants to stay with City for the final year of his contract in order to collect an £11m loyalty bonus in his contract.