Arsenal turn attention towards Austrian center back

Arsenal and Juventus are two clubs who haven’t crossed paths often but are all set to go head to head for the signature of a young defender for the second time this week. After both European giants established more than a passing interest in Basel defender Fabian Schar, they have now also been established as firm favourites to sign another 21 year old in Martin Hinteregger. The young Austrian defender plays for Austrian Bundesliga team Red Bull Salzburg and has been putting in some impressive performances at the club as well as the international level which has caught the eye of scouts. The naturally left footed centre half is also quite capable of filling in as a left back and it is precisely this versatility that is attracting the top clubs to him. Salzburg though are desperate to keep hold of the player and have tied him down to the club with a long term contract that expires only in 2018. The defender was solid even when his team was not, as the Austrian club lost out on a Champions League spot in their qualifiers against Fenerbahce over two legs, and even scored an almost impossible 70 yard goal against German team Schalke in a friendly earlier in July. Although Juventus are not short on quality centre backs with the likes of Chiellini and Barzagli in their ranks, Antonio Conte must believe that Hinteregger possesses talent enough for Juventus to not just let him pass by. Arsenal’s needs meanwhile are somewhat more dire with injury concerns as well as lack of depth at the back, which has led Arsene Wenger to deploy Bacary Sagna as a centre back. Wenger has always been known to keep an eye out for young talent and believes that that is exactly what Hinteregger represents.