English Premier League club Arsenal FC is reportedly preparing an £85.5 million bid for Atletico Madrid hitman Antoine Griezmann before the summer transfer window closes at the end of the month.
Caught Offside reported that Arsenal head coach Arsene Wenger is "keen to land a star striker this summer" as he wants to improve his "attacking options" for the upcoming season.
At the moment, Wenger has compatriot Olivier Giroud, Theo Walcott, Danny Welbeck, Joel Campbell, and Alex Iwobi as his options up front and the 66-year-old Frenchman still feels that it would not be enough to compete with the new and improve English top flight squads next season.
The report also mentioned that Wenger had talked with Griezmann, who is also from France, during the recent Euro 2016 tournament to try and lure him to join the Emirates Stadium residents. However, the 25-year-old forward had just signed a five-year contract prior to their meeting, which means that his £85.5 million release clause must be activated if the Gunners really want to snatch him.
Meanwhile, The Sun indicated that according to an Arsenal source, Wenger is "willing to spend on a striker this summer, but only for the right man" and that "he (Wenger) has his targets and players he thinks will improve the squad, but this could go down to the wire".
The English summer window closes on Sep. 1 while the Gunners play their season-opening game against Liverpool this Sunday, Aug. 14.
Wenger's first choice for an attacker is actually Lyon's Alexandre Lacazette, but the two clubs are having a difficult time reaching a deal after the Ligue 1 club rejected Arsenal's initial £29 million bid.
The French top flight squad is said to be demanding "£40 million plus bonuses" for Lacazette, but Wenger refuses to improve his bid.
Aside from targeting Griezmann, Wenger is also reportedly in talks with Bayern Munich for the possibility of transferring Polish striker Robert Lewandowski.
Griezmann is entering his third season with Los Colchoneros this month after he was acquired from Real Sociedad for £24 million in the summer of 2014.
The Frenchman had appeared in a total of 107 games for the Madrid squad so far and had netted 57 goals in the said time period.