Arsenal signing this Bundesliga man with £33.4m release clause would be a shrewd move

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Rohan Sengupta

Why Arsenal should make a move for Jonathan Tah in the summer

According to Bild (h/t The Sun), Arsenal are interested in signing Bayer Leverkusen centre-back Jonathan Tah in the summer.

Jonathan Tah, 24, has played 26 games in all competitions this season and has helped Bayer Leverkusen to six clean sheets in the Bundesliga this season. The Germany international is in his fifth year at Bay Arena, having joined from Hamburg.

The report (h/t The Sun) adds the 24-year-old defender has a £33.4m release clause in his contract, but Arsenal will need to move in quickly to sign him as this expires in June.

Jonathan Tah of Leverkusen controls the ball during the Bundesliga match between TSG 1899 Hoffenheim and Bayer 04 Leverkusen at PreZero-Arena on February 01, 2020 in Sinsheim, Germany. (Getty Images)
Jonathan Tah of Leverkusen controls the ball during the Bundesliga match between TSG 1899 Hoffenheim and Bayer 04 Leverkusen at PreZero-Arena on February 01, 2020 in Sinsheim, Germany. (Getty Images)

The Gunners have been defensively woeful this season, leaking 34 goals in 26 games. David Luiz, Sokratis Papastathopoulos and Shkodran Mustafi have all failed to live up to their required standards, failing to convince manager Mikel Arteta that they can be a solution for Arsenal’s problems at the back for the long-term.

Rob Holding is injured again while Calum Chambers faces a long-term on the sidelines following a cruciate knee ligament injury. To ease Arsenal’s defensive problems, Arteta signed Pablo Mari and Cedric Soares from Flamengo and Southampton respectively in January. The Gunners manager will hope Mari and Cedric to quickly settle down and help the club achieve a place in the top four.

Despite knowing William Saliba will be joining up in the summer after his loan at Saint-Etienne, Arsenal clearly needs more reinforcements in central defence if they are to challenge for trophies next term. In that regard, Jonathan Tah would be a good fit at the Emirates Stadium.

Tah has been a consistent performer in the Leverkusen rearguard for the last few seasons. He has made 126 Bundesliga appearances for Leverkusen, scoring four goals. Last season, the 24-year-old made 38 appearances across all competitions. Tah has also made nine appearances for the German national team and is expected to make Joachim Low’s squad for the European Championship this summer.

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta (Getty Images)
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta. (Getty Images)

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At just 24, the former Hamburg defender has played over 160 games in his club career and represented the national country nine times. Arsenal must add a centre-back this summer as competition for Luiz, Sokratis and Saliba. An experienced defender like Tah would make perfect sense.

Verdict

Arsenal boss Arteta must make it a priority to reinforce his backline ahead of the 2020/21 campaign. And signing Tah from Leverkusen in the summer would be a smart move.