Porto submit offer to Arsenal for Jakub Kiwior

Porto have submitted an offer to Arsenal for Polish defender Jakub Kiwior, according to journalist Fabrizio Romano.

The Portuguese club are aiming to sign Kiwior on an initial loan deal with an obligation to buy for a fee in excess of €25 million. 

Kiwior joined Arsenal from Spezia in January 2023 for around £20m but has struggled to cement a regular starting place under manager Mikel Arteta.

He has made just 21 Premier League starts in the last two seasons, often rotating between centre-back and left-back positions.

Despite showing quality when called upon, competition for places has intensified, opening the door to a potential departure which has been on the cards for some time now.

Porto’s interest in Kiwior is driven by the desire to bolster their defence with an experienced and versatile player alongside Jan Bednarek, who joined earlier this summer from Southampton.

Kiwior is open to the switch, seeking more regular playing time to continue developing and maintain his place in the Polish national team set-up.

With Arsenal currently possessing a deep defensive pool and keen to reinvest money from player sales into strengthening other areas, they have little problem letting Kiwior go.

Although AC Milan and Crystal Palace have shown interest, Porto remain the front-runners to sign Kiwior before the transfer deadline.

Kiwior’s departure is expected to make room for Arsenal’s pursuit of Piero Hincapie as they remain in talks with Bayer Leverkusen over a deal.