Costly Arsenal signing attracts new suitor whose coach would prefer undervalued Tottenham man
Arsenal defender Jakub Kiwior and Tottenham player Eric Dier
Arsenal defender Jakub Kiwior has been added to another club’s shortlist of transfer targets after Roma joined AC Milan in the race to take him back to Italy, per reports.
Kiwior cost Arsenal €25m when they bought him from Spezia in the January 2023 transfer window. For a player who has not been an instant starter, it was a fairly hefty investment. Yet Spezia knew what the Poland international was worth to them and other clubs back in Serie A have remembered what he is capable of.
There has been plenty of speculation in recent days about interest from AC Milan in Kiwior. The Rossoneri are dealing with an injury crisis in their defence; they currently only have Fikayo Tomori and Malick Thiaw fit at centre-back, while Pierre Kalulu and Simon Kjaer are among the major absentees.
So far, Arsenal have been reluctant to confirm to Milan that Kiwior could be available in their moment of need. However, the situation could change if Mikel Arteta does not increase the left-footer’s gametime before January.
And now, Leggo has revealed that Roma have become a second contender to take Kiwior back to Italy.
Like Milan, Roma have been on the receiving end of some injury blows in their backline. Jose Mourinho sets his defence up as a back three, but he currently only has three fit players – Gianluca Mancini, Diego Llorente and Evan Ndicka – to fit naturally in it.
It seems to be an unsustainable situation until Chris Smalling or Marash Kumbulla return from injury, so Roma are exploring their options in the market.
After also taking the likes of Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Wojciech Szczesny and Gervinho from Arsenal in recent memory – none of whom are still in the Italian capital now – Roma could be preparing another raid on the Gunners for Kiwior.
Ndicka is the Giallorossi’s only left-footed centre-back and his start to life in Serie A has been lukewarm, so it may help Mourinho to add an alternative like Kiwior.
Leggo has not mentioned whether Roma – who have been operating under strict financial guidelines imposed by UEFA, which also led to them having to omit summer signings Rasmus Kristensen and Sardar Azmoun from their Europa League squad – would be aiming to sign Kiwior on loan or a permanent basis.
Kiwior one of three options for Roma
Besides, the report claims he is just one of three options under consideration by Roma. The others are Radu Dragusin from Genoa and – at the top of Mourinho’s list – Eric Dier from Tottenham Hotspur
In fact, Mourinho is believed to have made recent contact with Dier, who worked with him before at Tottenham and is now his preferred target for Roma.
As someone more accustomed to sitting in the middle of a three-man defence, which is where Smalling usually plays but has been missing from for a couple of months, Dier might be more suited to what Roma need.
It would be doubly relieving for Arsenal, then, if they were able to avert the interest from elsewhere in Kiwior and simultaneously see their north-London rivals deprived of a player who hasn’t been overly used by Ange Postecoglou yet but may take on more importance now that Micky van de Ven is injured.
Regardless, Dier is into the final year of his contract at Tottenham and seems intrigued by the idea of a new challenge, so he might be the more easily attainable target for Roma.
Things can change quickly in the transfer market, though, and the Kiwior situation is still one to keep an eye on in the coming weeks.
Arteta has given the 23-year-old six appearances so far this season, half of which have been in the Premier League. Kiwior has completed 90 minutes on four occasions.
However, as a left-footed centre-half, he remains behind Gabriel Magalhaes in the hierarchy when it comes to choosing Arsenal’s strongest selection.
Kiwior is under contract at the Emirates Stadium until 2028, so has plenty of time to prove himself if Arsenal do keep hold of him this winter and beyond.
