Arsenal Transfer News: Latest Rumours on Nabil Fekir and Bernd Leno

Arsene Wenger is rumoured to have already identified his two prime targets for this summer's transfer window. In fact, the Arsenal boss is prepared to pay £50 million to land Lyon playmaker Nabil Fekir and Bayer Leverkusen goalkeeper Bernd Leno.

Reports in The Sun (h/t Daily Express writer James Dickenson) suggest Wenger wants to beat Paris Saint-Germain to Fekir, while he views Leno as an upgrade on his current goalkeepers.

The interest in Fekir is certainly well-founded. The 21-year-old has emerged as one of the most gifted creators in France's top flight this season.

He's created six goals and scored eight more in Ligue 1 action, according to WhoScored.com. He's now the second-most prolific supplier of goals in France, per the same site's official Twitter feed:

Fekir has quickly established himself as the attacking fulcrum of a team managed by former Arsenal player and Wenger protege Remi Garde. He certainly plays with the level of technical confidence and flair Wenger covets in his forward-thinking players.

Fekir has also expressed a willingness to work with the Gunners boss. Back in December, Fekir's father indicated he would choose Arsenal over Premier League rival Manchester City if it meant working with Wenger, per French publication Le Parisien (h/t Mail Online reporter Jonny Singer).

But the real question is do the Gunners even need him?

Fekir's talent is not in dispute. But neither is the fact the current Arsenal squad is loaded with attacking midfielders and supporting forwards.

Wenger has the likes of Santi Cazorla, Tomas Rosicky, Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez at his disposal. It's tough to see where Fekir fits, aside from being a young understudy to 30-year-old Cazorla and 34-year-old Rosicky.

But this is an ambitious player who would likely want to feature now. Fekir recently cited ex-Lyon striker and current Real Madrid star Karim Benzema's career trajectory as one he'd like to follow, during an interview with French-based journalist Matt Spiro, per the Ligue 1 official Twitter account:

Unless Wenger has an obvious space for him, Fekir will look like a luxury purchase.

It's much easier to see why the Gunners chief might want Leno. Arsenal do face uncertainty between the sticks, although Dickenson's claim Wenger has already lost faith in summer signing David Ospina seems a stretch.

The real issue lies with Wojciech Szczesny, the erratic goalkeeper Ospina replaced in the starting 11. He was dropped after gifting Southampton a pair of goals and then smoking in the shower following the defeat, per Daily Mirror reporter John Cross.

Szczesny has never shown any commitment to his own improvement and now seems like the perfect time to begin the search for his replacement. The Gunners have already been linked with Malaga's Guillermo Ochoa, according to Daily Express writer Bruce Archer.

But given the success of young German goalkeepers such as Manuel Neuer and Marc-Andre ter Stegen in recent seasons, Wenger may see the Bundesliga as fertile ground for finding a quality stopper.

A move for Leno makes sense, given Arsenal's obvious need for reinforcements between the sticks sooner rather than later. Yet the same is hardly true with Fekir, as the squad is already overloaded with talented creators.