Arsenal Transfer News: Latest on Mats Hummels, Aymeric Laporte Eyed in January

Arsene Wenger will "accelerate" a deal for Athletic Bilbao defender Aymeric Laporte due to Borussia Dortmund's Mats Hummels being "too expensive."

Such is the word from Alex Harris of the Daily Star, who believes 20-year-old Laporte could be on his way to the Emirates. Tom Collomosse of the London Evening Standard also indicated the Gunners are "considering" a move for the versatile defender.

Potential interest from Louis van Gaal is highlighted by Harris—Manchester United's defensive frailties are well documented this season—but the Gunners' limited winter transfer budget will see them struggle to entice someone of Hummels' calibre.

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Wenger will have £20 million to mobilise in January, as reported by John Cross of the Mirror, who outlined Celtic's Virgil Van Dijk, United's Chris Smalling and Aston Villa stalwart Ron Vlaar as possible investments.

"They are unlikely to be able to land a bigger name in January with more funds to be made available next summer for more reinforcements," wrote Cross. "I don't think £20 million will get Mats Hummels," noted Cross in an alternative piece.

Laporte is an interesting alternative. The defender pushed himself into the Bilbao first team during the 2012-13 season and has rarely lost his place since. He is tall—standing at over 6'2", per WhoScored.com—and is a busybody around his own box.

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In 10 La Liga appearances this season, Laporte has posted an average of 2.5 tackles, 3.8 interceptions and 3.7 clearances per match, as recorded by the aforementioned site. He needs to improve his pass accuracy of 80.6 percent, particularly if he's to fit in at Arsenal, but he naturally emits the hard-working, combative urgency Wenger's team needs.

However, pricing could pose a problem. Jamie Anderson of the Express recently reported Laporte's £32 million buyout clause, a fee which would render Wenger's alleged transfer kitty useless. The developing centre-back "will have to decide" between Arsenal or United, while Wenger knows reinforcements are difficult to come by.

"We tried to buy one more (in the summer), a defender, but we didn't find one," said the Frenchman, per Anderson. "But we will try to rectify that in January."

Arsenal specialist James McNicholas provided a couple of alternatives for the Gunners to scout during his recent discussion with B/R UK's Ryan Bailey:

Options are certainly limited in January, so Wenger needs to identify his main targets quickly. Laporte should be welcomed by supporters—the Frenchman is only improving with each passing season—and has the potential to impress with his maturity, similar to Calum Chambers.

If Arsenal's aforementioned £20 million budget is to be enforced, however, the boss is going to find it difficult to compete. This is likely to be a prominent theme throughout January, a month in which players are typically expensive to compensate clubs for their midseason loss.

Wenger doesn't have the time to flit around a deal—not after watching Arsenal throw away two leads against Anderlecht and Swansea—so would be wise to stump up the cash.