Arsenal have been called out for failing to follow up on their bid to sign Jonny Evans by Danny Simpson, with the 32 year-old now thoroughly impressing for Leicester City.
The Gunners made a move to sign the defender back in 2018, before baulking at the asking price of West Brom, before the centre-back was sold six months later for a fraction of the fee.
Our side are claimed to have offered £12 Million in the January transfer window, while the Baggies wanted £20 Million to part with their key asset as they hoped to avoid relegation, a target they did not reach.
Leicester came through and completed his signing at the end of that campaign for a lowly £3 Million, and you have to ask the question as to why they were not still in the hunt following the price drop, especially given their lack of leadership in defence.
Evans former team-mate Danny Simpson also questions why Arsenal failed to follow up their in their interest.
“When we have discussed Arsenal, it’s that leadership at the back,” Simpson told Stadium Astro.
“I’ll mention him because he’s a Leicester player. I don’t even know what happened with the Jonny Evans situation.
“I remember there was Arsenal interest in the January transfer window and then in the summer, he was available for £3million.
“Someone with that experience, he has won Premier Leagues at Manchester United.
“I was delighted that he came to Leicester and you see how he has been performing. He has probably been one of their best centre-backs this season.
“I think a signing like that would have been a really good signing for Arsenal and they never seem to go for that kind of signing. Evans is a leader, good on the ball and he can defend.”
Our side has made a number of mistakes when it comes to their work inside the transfer windows, but we can only hope that with Mikel Arteta given a more hands-on involvement in new signings that we will hopefully see the team begin to fix the issues within the squad.
Will MA have the final say on signings? Could Saliba be the glue needed to bring solidity to our back four?
Patrick
