Arsenal are supposedly interested in a deal to sign James Maddison from Leicester City this summer, with Sky Sports claiming a deal would cost in excess of £70 Million, which surely means there are much better viable options that we should be looking at.
Following the Coronavirus pandemic, finances of many clubs have been pushed to their limits, and naturally transfer fees and negotiations over moves are much more stringent at present.
With that in mind, the selling of major assets from some of Europe’s biggest clubs is now a necessity, while many Premier League clubs retain strength thanks to the division’s favourable TV deals and rich owners.
Arsenal certainly appear to be stretching their financial muscle this summer, spending in excess of £75 Million on Nuno Tavares, Albert Sambi Lokonga and Ben White at this early point in the window, and are still looking to continue to build a squad worthy of bridging the gap on our rivals higher up in the table.
After splashing around £50 Million on Ben White, we are now believed to be targeting an attacking midfielder for a fee in excess of that of the English defender, with the likes of Lautaro Martinez and Maddison believed to be on our radar, but there must be better options who suit our recent transfer policy of buying young players with the potential to become world stars, and there are a number of others who should be on our radar.
Some relatively untested young prospects that are worth looking at are Thiago Almada, who is currently playing regularly in Argentina, and Florian Wirtz who is enjoying his role in Germany.
The latter would be my favoured option, having proven himself worthy of a regular role for Bundesliga side Bayer Leverkusen, but his tender age definitely raises question marks on whether this would be the right time for him to move on, although I would love to see him come in and rival Smith Rowe in behind the striker.
Christopher Nkunku, Nicolo Zaniolo, Martin Odegaard and the lesser-known Nikola Vlasic are players who should all be considered realistic targets however. The latter is currently plying his trade in Russia with CSKA Moscow, scoring 11 goals and picking up five assists in only 26 league outings last term, and at the age of 23, he still has plenty of scope for progression.
Zaniolo’s injury record is no doubt a major red flag, which could leave us with Nkunku and Odegaard, who have both been strongly linked with a move to us in recent windows, especially with the latter having enjoyed a very impressive short-term loan at the Emirates earlier in 2021.
I struggle to believe that any of these players are likely to cost in excess of £60 Million, and I dare say that each has a higher ceiling of potential to meet than the likes of Maddison.
Who would be you pick to come in and and bolster our number 10 role?
Patrick