Arsenal could reportedly turn their attention to Monaco midfielder Youssouf Fofana if their pursuit of West Ham United's Declan Rice ends in failure.
The Gunners are seemingly engaged in a two-horse race for Rice with Manchester City and have already seen two offers rejected by West Ham.
While Arsenal have been preparing a third bid, Man City apparently came forward with a £90m offer for the England international on Monday, which would have seen the Hammers receive £80m plus £10m in add-ons.
City's bid was quickly rejected by West Ham, who are adamant that Rice will not be allowed to leave for anything less than £100m, in spite of the fact that his contract is due to expire in 2024.
Rice is still believed to be pining for a move to North London, and Arsenal are expected to break the £100m mark with a third bid, which would make the midfielder their most expensive player of all time.
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However, with Man City still in the race and Manchester United also said to be lurking in the background, Arsenal are making contingency plans in case a deal falls through.
According to L'Equipe, Monaco and France lynchpin Fofana is a name on the Gunners' radar, and a deal could be struck for approximately £30m this summer.
Fofana would therefore represent a much cheaper acquisition than Rice, but Arsenal must fend off interest from Inter Milan, Roma, Newcastle United and West Ham, who have identified the Frenchman as a potential successor to Rice.
As is the case with the Hammers captain, Fofana is due to become a free agent in the summer of 2024, and Monaco are happy to let the 24-year-old leave if suitable offers are tabled, but Les Monegasques are yet to receive an official bid.
Fofana came through the youth academy at Strasbourg before joining Monaco in a €15m (£12.9m) deal in January 2020, and he boasts three goals and 11 assists in 140 appearances for the Ligue 1 giants in all tournaments.
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The 24-year-old formed an effective partnership with Aurelien Tchouameni before the latter's move to Real Madrid, helping Monaco seal a place in the qualifying rounds of the 2022-23 Champions League, where they lost to PSV Eindhoven.
Fofana - who represented France at the 2022 World Cup - ended the 2022-23 season with two goals and two assists from 47 matches in all tournaments, starting 35 Ligue 1 games as Monaco missed out on continental football with a sixth-placed finish.
Arsenal are on the hunt for multiple midfield additions ahead of Granit Xhaka's expected departure, as the Switzerland captain closes in on a £13m move to Bayer Leverkusen.
Thomas Partey is also attracting interest from Juventus and Saudi Arabia, while Albert Sambi Lokonga could reportedly be offloaded either on loan or permanently amid links with Burnley.
The Gunners are expected to confirm Chelsea's Kai Havertz as their first signing this week, with the German completing the first part of his medical over the weekend.
Ben Knapton
