Arsenal Transfer News: After Bielik and Paulista, Wenger Wants to Sign La Liga Midfielder

Arsene Wenger is not planning to stop at Krystian Bielik and Gabriel Paulista, with the Arsenal manager reportedly making a bid for the services of Real Madrid midfielder Asier Illarramendi.

Bielik has already signed on the dotted line for Arsenal, with the young 17-year-old tipped for great things in the future.

Paulista is also expected to sign for Arsenal in the January transfer window after Arsene Wenger as good as admitted he expects the deal to be completed.

Many would have expected Arsenal's transfer dealings for January to end there, but according to Marca, Wenger is hoping to sign Illarramendi, with the manager already putting in an offer to Real Madrid.

The offer is for a summer move, according to the Spanish publication, but a transfer in January cannot be entirely ruled out since Real Madrid have just completed the signing of Lucas Silva from Cruzeiro.

Silva basically plays in the same position as Illarramendi, putting the Spanish midfielder even further lower down the pecking order at Real.

Asked about a possible exit for his player, Real Madrid manager insisted he wants to keep Illarramendi at the club, at least until the end of the season.

"He is a player of Real Madrid and though it's true he hasn't played much, we still have confidence in him," Ancelotti said of Illarramendi. "He's important in the locker room."

The Italian was always going to make such a comment when asked about a player's future, but there is little doubt that the midfielder will be considering a move away since it does not look like he will be getting too many games at Real.

Athletic Bilbao have also reportedly made a bid for Illarramendi's services, but the 24-year-old is reluctant to make a move to Bilbao, according to the Madrid-based Marca.

That opens up Arsenal's chances of signing Illarramendi further, but the only question remains if Wenger sees shelling out well over £20 million worth it for the Real Madrid midfielder.

Recent reports have claimed that Arsenal already have a deal in place to sign Morgan Schneiderlin from Southampton next summer, while William Carvalho is another name which keep cropping up.

Also with the form of Francis Coquelin, who Arsenal are trying to tie to a new deal, a deal for Illarramendi, especially when it will cost a pretty penny, might not be one of Wenger's priorities at the moment.