The Arsenal and USA starlet Gedion Zelalem was expected to go off for a six-month loan deal at Glasgow Rangers, but now it seems that the deal could be hijacked by Fulham, Charlton or Birmingham City as more clubs have been alerted to his availability. Zelalem has been in excellent form for the USA in the U20 World Cup during the summer.
The German-born youngster was first spotted by Arsenal as a 14 year-old playing in a varsity team in Maryland. Despite living in America he was picked for the Germany U15-U17 sides before gaining US citizenship this year, just in time to be picked for the summer internationals.
He is extremely highly-rated and it is believed that Arsene Wenger was keen on him to play for six months with Rangers to help him cope with the physical side of the game. He visited their training ground and was expected to sign up, but now a Rangers source has told the Daily Record: “There’s been no agreement. The talks went well but there are other options on the table and it’s up to Gedion to decide which one suits him best.”
Now that he has offers from London clubs in Fulham and Charlton, perhaps both him and Wenger would prefer to have him stay locally, although he may not be guaranteed so many games. I can certainly tell you why all these teams are interested in him as you can watch this excellent compilation of his skills. He is certainly talented and is not averse to a bit of showboating either!
Enjoy…