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Arsenal have made a "substantial bid" for Southampton defender Calum Chambers, ESPN sources have confirmed. Chambers is another rising star to emerge from Southampton's celebrated academy, with the interest in his services from Arsenal being downplayed as "just rumours" by Saints boss Ronald Koeman following his side's pre-season friendly game against Bournemouth on Friday. In a summer that has already seen Rickie Lambert and Adam Lallana leave Southampton for Liverpool and Luke Shaw make a 27 million-pound move to Manchester United, more departures now seem imminent at Southampton. Croatian centre-back Dejan Lovren is expected to follow Lambert and Lallana to Liverpool imminently, with Arsenal's move to Chambers another headache Koeman is dealing with as he settles into life as Southampton boss. Koeman confirmed in a BBC radio interview that Lovren will join Liverpool in the coming days, but he was eager to sidestep questions about Chambers' future. "These are all rumours," stated Koeman. "Calum didn't train yesterday and that is why he didn't play [against Bournemouth]. "The transfer window is running and running and we have to see how it goes. We are Southampton, we are not Man City, but we are rebuilding the team a little now. We will be okay." Koeman admitted his pre-season plans were being hampered by the speculation surrounding so many of his players, with midfielder Morgan Schneiderlin another being linked with a move away from Southampton. "Every manager likes to have from the beginning the squad he would like finally. We know we have to bring some players in and we are working very hard on that. We are very close to bringing players in, but the fans have to be patient on that. "We sill be well prepared by the time we come to play Liverpool [on the first day of the season]. When you are in the transfer window, always something can happen until the end of August."
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