Arsenal have emerged favourites to sign Bolton defender Rob Holding after preparing a £2.5m ($3m) bid for the 20-year-old. The Gunners are confident that the bid will put off interest from other clubs and allow them to smoothly complete a deal for the player.

The Sun reports that Arsene Wenger is a huge fan of the defender and considers him a potential superstar for the future. The Gunners have already had a bid rejected for the player but are confident that the next bid will see the deal sail through.

More about Arsenal

The 20-year-old was named Bolton's player of the year for last season despite only playing regularly in the second half of last season. The defender's contract with the League One side expires next summer, with the player not keen on extending his time at Bolton. It was reported that Tottenham, Everton and Bournemouth are also interested in signing the player but recent developments suggest that the youngster is on his way to the Emirates.

Meanwhile, former Arsenal goalkeeper David Seaman has urged Arsene Wenger to make a few more signings if they have to challenge for the title. The retired England international believes that they need at least a dominant centre-back if they have to end their 12-year wait without the title.

Rob Holding
Rob Holding is on his way to Arsenal Getty

"We still need a dominant centre-half," he told talkSPORT. "We'll see what Granit [Xhaka]'s like in midfield, but ideally we need someone like Patrick Vieira. And a striker as well.

"He needs to buy someone to give the club a lift and give the fans a lift. Ideally a striker would be great, but either a centre-half or midfielder would do for me. The thing is that a lot of the players who played in the Euros are not going to be ready for the start of the season, and that's going to mean we are going to have a weakened team," he added.

Premier League transfer window