Arsenal hit stumbling block in Bernd Leno transfer to Benfica

Benfica are interested in signing Bernd Leno from Arsenal this summer but the deal may have hit a stumbling block with the Portuguese side reluctant to pay the Gunners' asking price.

The 30-year-old has one year left on his current Arsenal contract and will be allowed to leave the club in search of regular first-team football. Leno made just four Premier League appearances last term and only one since September - keeping a clean sheet in a 1-0 win over Aston Villa.

This is mainly due to the excellent form of Aaron Ramsdale, who has cemented himself as the Gunners' new No.1 after a number of consistent performances between the sticks. With USA goalkeeper Matt Turner also arriving from New England Revolution, Leno is surplus to requirements at the Gunners and is set to depart in the summer.

According to The Sun, Benfica is a possible destination but the two parties have been unable to agree a fee. Arsenal's valuation of Leno is around £8.5million - almost a third less than what they paid for him back in 2018 when he joined from Bayer Leverkusen.

However, Benfica are reportedly unwilling to splash out that amount of money on the German international. They are hoping to sign Leno for a cheaper price given his age and lack of minutes last term.

It is understood Leno wants to move on as he tries to to get back into the Germany squad ahead of the World Cup but he hasn't been called up by his country since November last year. Leno has played just nine times for his country with Manuel Neuer often picked ahead of him.

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The source also suggests a number of other Arsenal players could be on their way out of the club. Konstantinos Mavropanos has already secured a permanent switch to Stuttgart. Meanwhile, Matteo Guendouzi, Ainsley Maitland-Niles, Hector Bellerin, Pablo Mari and Lucas Torreira could all depart having spent the last season out on loan.

When speaking about his future last month, Leno told told GOAL and SPOX : "You can't rule anything out anyway. I'm 30-years-old, so you'd think that, despite the ambition and impatience, you might be a bit more relaxed about such a topic.

"Of course, there are always approaches. But, it's about playing here. That's my first ambition.

"If the club plans otherwise, they have to approach me. Of course, my agency and I are keeping an eye on the situation."