Arsenal Reportedly Eye Late Swoop for Croatian World Cup Star Ahead of Premier League Opener

Arsenal and West Ham United, two of the most active teams during this transfer window, are set to battle it out for the signing of Croatian centre back Domagoj Vida, who starred for his nation at the World Cup.

Vida, who currently plays his club football for Turkish side Besiktas, played a key role for Croatia as they managed to reach the final of the World Cup and impressed throughout the tournament.

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Turkish outlet Fanatik are reporting that the two Premier League clubs have shown the most interest in Vida, whilst Paris Saint-Germain, Monaco and Lyon have all registered their interest in the defender.

Arsenal are believed to have offered Besiktas around £25m for Vida, which is far more than any of the French teams have suggested he is worth, meaning Besiktas are keen to do a deal with one of the English clubs.

However, with the transfer window in England closing on Thurday, much earlier than in previous years, both Arsenal and West Ham face a race against time to finalise a deal for Vida. Meanwhile, the transfer window in France does not close until August 31st, giving the French clubs much more time to organise a deal.

Vida met with his agent Ugur Avadan and club official Umut Guner a few days ago, with Avadan documenting the meeting on his personal Instagram page, and Fanatik claim that this meeting was to discuss a move away from the club.

Vida only joined Besiktas in January as he moved from Ukrainian side Dynamo Kyiv on a free transfer. Should the rumoured £25m figure turn out to be true, Besiktas will make a huge profit in a short period of time.