Arsenal could reportedly face competition from Manchester United and Chelsea to land Ajax goalkeeper Diant Ramaj this summer.
The Gunners are understood to have identified the 22-year-old as an ideal replacement for Aaron Ramsdale, who is expected to push for a move elsewhere at the end of the season.
After spending two years as Mikel Arteta's undisputed number one, Ramsdale was demoted to second choice earlier this season by Brentford loanee David Raya, whose move will be made permanent in the coming months.
Ramsdale's father admitted in November that his son had "lost his smile" while sitting on the Arsenal benches, and his lack of action will significantly harm his chances of playing for England at Euro 2024.
With Raya seemingly under no threat of losing his number one status, Ramsdale - who only signed a new contract in May - will have to head for the exit door if he wishes to remain in Gareth Southgate's thinking for future international squads.
Due to Alex Runarsson's contract termination, Estonia international Karl Hein and Arthur Okonkwo - currently on loan at Wrexham - will be Arteta's only other goalkeeping options this summer if Ramsdale leaves, although both are inexperienced at the top level.
As a result, Arsenal have been tipped to move for Ajax regular Ramaj, but according to Bild journalist Christian Falk, Manchester United and Chelsea have also been conducting checks on the 22-year-old.
Both of the Gunners' fellow Big Six sides are working to bolster their goalkeeping department for 2024-25, in spite of the Red Devils signing both Andre Onana and Altay Bayindir last summer following David de Gea's exit.
Onana has been Man United's number one in all competitions this season, though, restricting Bayindir to just one appearance for the club so far, a 4-2 FA Cup success over Newport County while the former was away at the Africa Cup of Nations.
Having not even been considered for minutes in the EFL Cup, Bayindir is already being linked with a return to the Turkish Super Lig, and Galatasaray are said to be weighing up a summer approach.
Thirty-seven-year-old Tom Heaton is the Red Devils' third-choice shot-stopper, but his contract runs out at the end of the season, and it is not clear whether an extension will be sanctioned.
Meanwhile, Chelsea have supposedly put Robert Sanchez up for sale less than a year after signing the Spaniard from Brighton & Hove Albion, as Mauricio Pochettino is not convinced that he fits the bill as a long-term number one.
Kepa Arrizabalaga's future is also up in the air, as the on-loan Real Madrid shot-stopper - whose Chelsea deal runs until 2025 - is determined to join Los Blancos permanently, but he has lost his place in the team to Andriy Lunin during Thibaut Courtois's recovery from an ACL injury.
The 6ft 2in Ramaj left Eintracht Frankfurt to join Ajax in a £4.3m deal last summer and has made 24 appearances for the Eredivisie giants during his debut season, although he only has four clean sheets to his name.
The German represented his nation up to Under-20 level, and his contract in Amsterdam runs until the end of the 2027-28 campaign. body check tags ::
