Arsenal 'have first bid rejected' for summer target as Edu told to pay £21.7m asking price

Arsenal have had an opening bid rejected by Galatasaray for right-back Sacha Boey, according to reports.

Boey, who is a France youth international with three different age groups, joined the Turkish giants from Rennes in the summer of 2021.

The 22-year-old has scored one goal and provided four assists in 29 appearances as Galatasaray close in on the Turkish Super Lig title. He has also shown his combative side, picking up eight yellow cards and being shown one red card.

Arsenal's interest in the defender dates back to March, with Turkish outlet Aksam claiming that the Gunners had made Boey a summer 'priority' amid links to Aston Villa.

Transfermarkt value the Frenchman at €11 million (£9.5 million) - his highest historical valuation - but it appears that Arsenal will need to pay a significantly higher fee in order to bring the right-back to the Emirates Stadium this summer.

Arsenal 'learn Boey asking price'

According to Turkish journalist Nevzat Dindar (via Daily Mail), Arsenal have made a bid worth £14.7 million to Galatasaray to sign Boey. However, it has been rejected by the Turkish club.

It is claimed that Galatasaray, who can seal their first league title in four years on Sunday after a number of difficult campaigns, have told Gunners sporting director Edu that a fee of £21 million would be enough to tempt them to sell.

If he moves to north London, Boey would be competing with Ben White and Takehiro Tomiyasu for a spot in Arsenal's starting XI.

But the signing of a right-back could potentially signal a plan to move White into his more natural central defensive role, particularly with doubts over the fitness of William Saliba ahead of pre-season.

Boey's impressive performances - he has the fifth-highest WhoScored rating of any player in the Turkish Super Lig this season, and the highest of players under 30 - could make him an ideal signing to fill the right-back slot and play his part in assisting Arsenal's renewed title challenge.