Arsenal transfer news: Kylian Mbappe is one of the most in-demand strikers in football but has shared his verdict on two of Mikel Arteta’s forward options.
Every football club in Europe has a reason to sign Paris Saint-Germain striker Kylian Mbappe. The forward has emerged as one of the game’s most-prolific goalscorers since breaking through the Monaco academy.
Mbappe has scored a sensational 244 goals at club-level in 325 appearances. For the France national team, he boasts an impressive 40 goals in 70 caps.
Amid the continued uncertainty over his future in Paris, clubs are on red-alert. He has been put up for sale with just 12 months left on his contract with the French giants desperate not to lose him for free next summer. The whereabouts of the 24-year-old remains unclear, though countless reports have linked him with most clubs.
Real Madrid are widely viewed as the favourite to land the striker. Al-Hilal – backed by the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund – have already seen a world-record bid worth £260million turned down, meaning other options are being considered
Arsenal are not in the category of clubs who are currently in great need of a number nine. Mikel Arteta has a number of options to choose from in the centre-forward option, perhaps too many. Gabriel Jesus is the Gunners’ boss first-choice man to lead the line with Eddie Nketiah and Folarin Balogun closely behind.
Much has been made of Arsenal’s decision to allow Balogun to leave. The USMNT star scored 21 Ligue 1 goals for Stade de Reims last season and spent the most of the season challenging Mbappe for the Golden Boot in France.
However, with the club demanding £50million, football.london understands, Balogun’s future in north London is highly expected to be in Europe.
A host of players have been linked with a move to Arsenal this summer with Edu Gaspar and Arteta making the necessary moves to upgrade the current squad. Back in January, Brighton prodigy Evan Ferguson was said to be on their radar after his breakthrough campaign with the Seagulls.
The 18-year-old scored 10 goals for the senior team last season – with six goals in seven games for the Under-21s. Ferguson’s prowess in front of goal has resulted in him being tipped to be a potential Harry Kane successor at Tottenham.
And Mbappe appears to be a fan of both Balogun and Ferguson. During his summer holidays, Mbappe and Balogun posed together for a picture in the United States inside a club. The two strikers led the way in the Ligue 1 goalscoring charts last season, with a mutual respect between them.
During June’s international break, Mbappe spoke about the threat of Ferguson ahead of France’s fixture against Ireland. “We watched some of his plays, he’s a very good striker,” Mbappe said. “We’ll be very wary of him and, hopefully, we won’t see him much.”
While some supporters consider the No.9 position as the area that needs investment this summer, Arsenal could certainly do worse than considering Mbappe’s recommendations.
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