Arsenal Transfer News: Alvaro Morata Fee Set Amid Real Madrid Talk, Top Rumours

Real Madrid are reportedly "ready to sell" Arsenal target Alvaro Morata but would demand "at least £38 million" if they were to bring back and then part with the striker.

Morata has spent the last two seasons at Juventus, but Real look set to activate their buy-back clause to re-sign him this summer before selling him on to the highest bidder, per AS' Sergio Gomez.

According to Mark Irwin in the Sun, Real can take the 23-year-old back to the Bernabeu for £24 million and are eager to then "get Chelsea and Manchester City involved in the bidding for the Spanish ace to push the price even higher."

However, Irwin added Arsenal are leading the pack in the Morata transfer chase and "are ready to meet Real’s asking price."

According to La Gazzetta dello Sport (via Sport Witness), Arsenal already have a €60 million (£45.6 million) offer on the table for the Spaniard—and have done for some time—although it seems unlikely given the Gunners' history of frugality:

However, the north London club has already bucked the trend of last summer by signing an outfield player in Granit Xhaka—before the transfer window even opened—and he did not come cheap, per German outlet Kicker (via football writer Stefan Bienkowski):

Perhaps this summer will finally see Arsenal throw off the Emirates Stadium-imposed shackles and spend big on turning their squad into genuine title contenders.

Manager Arsene Wenger needs a top-class striker in his side. In 2015-16, No. 1 frontman Olivier Giroud again failed to make a telling impact, netting 16 Premier League goals during the campaign, three of which came in a largely meaningless final-day clash against Aston Villa, per WhoScored.com.

Morata has hardly been prolific in his two seasons at Juve—he has netted 15 times in 2,777 minutes of Serie A football, a ratio of around one goal every two games, per WhoScored.com.

However, he has shown enormous potential and is likely only to improve as he gains more experience. 

The young striker also has title-winning experience—having won Serie A twice and La Liga once—which is not something that can be said of much of Arsenal's squad, and his huge contribution as Juve got to the UEFA Champions League final last season proved he is a man for the big occasion, per Squawka Dave:

Elsewhere, Wenger is also reportedly eyeing Bolton Wanderers centre-back Rob Holding, Arsenal making a formal offer of £1.2 million in an attempt to sign the talented 20-year-old, per Irwin.

The Gunners need to bolster their defence, as the 30-year-old Laurent Koscielny is their only reliable centre-back.

Holding could be a terrific long-term addition to Arsenal's back four, as he showed excellent form for the Trotters last term, winning their 2015-16 Player of the Season award.