Arsenal Eye Ambitious Bid for Borussia Dortmund Starlet Dan-Axel Zagadou

​Arsenal are reportedly keen on signing Borussia Dortmund defender Dan-Axel Zagadou this summer.

The 20-year-old has been playing for France at the Under-20 World Cup in Poland and the Gunners are said to have been impressed with his performances.

Zagadou, who has represented France at every age group since the Under-16s, helped his country keep two clean sheets in the group stages before their elimination in the round of 16 at the hands of the USA.

Now, according to the Mirror, ​Arsenal are exploring the possibility of signing the Frenchman this summer. The north London side's interest is also being reported by ​France Football, who state that Arsenal are aware of the difficulty of signing the talented youngster whose contract does not expire until 2022.

Arsenal are in dire need of defensive reinforcements following a Premier League season in which they conceded an alarmingly-high 51 goals, consequently finishing outside of the Champions League qualification places.

A pursuit of Zagadou is likely to be hindered, though, with various sources reporting over the past few weeks that Arsenal only have a ​£45m transfer budget.

Zagadou started his career at PSG and signed for ​Bundesliga giants ​Dortmund in 2017 on a free transfer, where he has made 35 appearances thus far.

He has generally impressed during his short time at Signal Iduna Park, but will face increased competition for playing time next season after Der BVB re-signed former defender Mats Hummels from ​Bayern Munich.

Zagadou was part of a Dortmund side that mounted a title challenge last season, leading the Bundesliga for large parts of the campaign before falling away in the second half of the season, allowing Bayern to win their seventh consecutive title.