1 day Ago
Liverpool and Arsenal are interested in Girona pair Viktor Tsygankov and Miguel Gutierrez and both clubs sent scouts to watch them in action on Wednesday. The duo played a key role in Girona’s outstanding 2023/2024 season, helping the Spanish minnows to third in La Liga, after they battled Real Madrid for top spot for much of the campaign. Their impressive season caught the eye of some of Europe’s elite and top scorer Artem Dovbyk moved to Roma for £28m, Bayer Leverkusen snapped up Aleix Garcia for £15m, while Manchester City signed Savinho – who was on loan at Girona from Troyes.
Those departures have seen Girona struggle at the start of this season, with Michel’s side currently sitting tenth in La Liga with seven points from their opening five games. The Girona boss will therefore be keen to keep the rest of his squad together while – if anything – adding to it in January, but a report in CaughtOffside claims they may well struggle to retain Tsygankov and Gutierrez. Gutierrez got two goals and nine assists from left-back last season while Tsygankov got eight goals and seven assists last term before a goal and an assist at the start of the new season.
Arsenal and Liverpool both sent scouts to watch the pair in action for Girona in their 1-0 defeat to Paris Saint-Germain in Paris on Wednesday, while the report claims Aston Villa also had staff in attendance to watch the game. MORE LIVERPOOL COVERAGE ON F365..
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A report in the summer claimed Arsenal ‘approached and probed’ Tsygankov’s agent with Italian giants AC Milan also keen on the winger. The Ukraine international – who joined Girona from Dynamo Kiev for just €5m in January 2023 – was in talks with Girona over a new deal earlier this year, but nothing was agreed amid suggestions the 26-year-old was angling for a move away. It was claimed then that Arteta was determined to sign the winger, whom he is said to be ‘in love with’.
Tsygankov has the advantage of being comfortable either on the left or right and could be an alternative to Raheem Sterling, who has joined Arsenal on loan this season and will presumably be eyeing up a permanent move to the Emirates..
