Chelsea are now upping their efforts to sign Ajax defender Jorrel Hato, a defender who’s been on Arsenal’s radar long-term.
Despite only being 19 years old, Jorrel Hato has already made 111 senior appearances for Ajax, a testament to the youngster’s talent.
Hato is able to play in a variety of roles at the back, hence his comparisons to Arsenal defender Jurrien Timber, who trod a similar path from Ajax’s academy.
Of course, Arsenal would love to sign Hato as well, a defender who could potentially come in to replace Oleksandr Zinchenko or Jakub Kiwior next season.
But Arsenal won’t have a free run at Hato by any means, and Chelsea are determined to land the young Dutch star themselves.
Arsenal confident of securing Jorrel Hato deal despite strong Chelsea interest
That being said, TBR Football chief correspondent Graeme Bailey has now provided an update on Hato’s situation this summer.
Chelsea are ‘pushing hard’ to sign the defender right now, but there’s a quiet confidence at the Emirates that they will be able to complete a deal for Hato.
AFC Ajax star Jorrel Hato
Photo by Ben Gal/BSR Agency/Getty Images
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Explaining the status quo, Bailey said: “Arsenal see Hato as the perfect addition to the left side of their defence, but obviously it’s far from a done deal.
“We know that Chelsea are pushing hard to sign Hato and Liverpool still really like him. But I think Arsenal would be annoyed if they didn’t get Hato considering how much work they’ve been putting in.
“Arsenal have been chasing Hato since he was around 14 or 15 years old, so I think there is a bit of confidence there.
“They want to sell Zinchenko to make room for Hato and then we still expect Kiwior to go as well.
“There will be plenty of room in that squad for Hato who is able to play a variety of roles.”
Jordan Henderson has been impressed by Jorrel Hato at Ajax
Of course, Hato has been playing with former Liverpool star Jordan Henderson at Ajax, who’s had a lot of good things to say about the youngster.
And speaking towards the start of last year, Henderson described Hato as a ‘fantastic’ young player, who was only 17 at the time, but still playing regularly in the first team.
Henderson said: “It’s crazy how young he is, but obviously how mature he looks when he’s on the pitch and also off the pitch.
“He’s a very mature person. Works hard. Fantastic player. And yeah, he has a bright future ahead of him, I’m sure.”
And it’s clear why Arsenal would be ‘annoyed’ were they to miss out on Hato to Chelsea or Liverpool in the coming weeks and months.