Arsenal prepared to pay £11m for former Liverpool defensive target

The Gunners are keeping tabs on Schalke’s Papadopolous.

Schalke 04 centre-back Krygiakos Papadopoulos has been targeted by several sides this summer and now Arsenal are readying an £11m for the defensive target, according to the Daily Express.
 

The Daily Star reported at the end of August that Liverpool – who had been linked with Papadopoulos for much of the transfer window – were prepared to make one last effort to sign the Greece international.

This proposed move never materialised and in the end the Reds swooped for Paris Saint-Germain’s Mamadou Sakho and Tiago Ilori of Sporting Lisbon, to act as defensive support.

Now the Gunners are keeping their eye on the 21-year-old, with Papadopoulos gaining a high reputation in the Bundesliga and the north London club keen to improve their own defence.

Laurent Koscielny and Per Mertesacker have emerged as the preferred partnership at the back by manager

Arsene Wenger, but a spate of injuries at the start of this current season showed up the club’s lack of depth.
Captain Thomas Vermaelen has fallen out-of-favour with Wenger and Johan Djourou was sent out on-loan to Hamburger SV.

Papadopoulos however has not played a match for Schalke since November 2012 after undergoing a knee operation and its unknown when the Greek defender will return to action.

Despite the player’s relatively young age, injury has been a major burden for the centre-back and could be a cause of concern for any potential buyer.

Since joining the German club from Olmpiakos in 2010, Papadopoulos has played 92 matches in all competitions for the side and has also earned 16 caps for Greece.