Charles Watts has likened Albert Sambi Lokonga‘s prospective deal to that of Matteo Guendouzi, who initially joined Arsenal as one for the future before playing a first-team role in his debut season.
The Frenchman arrived from Lorient in 2018 and was expected to be a player for the future, but after impressing in pre-season training made his debut for the club in their very first league fixture of the campaign, in a 2-0 loss to Manchester City.
The Goal correspondent has likened Lokonga’s proposed deal, which is believed to be close to completion at present, as similar to that, in that he is currently viewed as one for the future, albeit having the potential to make an impact in training which could see him play a first-team role this term.
Watts told his YouTube followers: “This bid is apparently a lot closer to what Anderlecht want, but they still need to get the clauses done, get the exact structure of the deal made up to suit all parties, but it seems as though this is one that is edging closer and closer to completion, which will be a big boost for Arsenal because they really like Lokonga and Edu and Arteta are very keen on him.
“See I’ve been told when I’ve been speaking to people about this that he’s very much seen as one for the future, but that doesn’t mean he’s not going to go into the first-team. When Guendouzi signed he was seen as one for the future, but he went straight into the first-team because he impressed so much in pre-season.”
I’m excited to see what Sambi can do alongside Thomas Partey, but we may well have to wait a little while to see that with another central midfielder surely on our wishlist, especially if Granit Xhaka is to depart the club.
Patrick