Arsenal have been linked to signing Juventus attacker Kenan Yildiz in the January transfer window.
The Gunners will head into the January window, without needing to make many deals, as they already have a deep, quality squad for Mikel Arteta to utilise, and at the moment, it seems he’s getting the best out of them.
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Arsenal have been linked to making an opportune signing of Juventus attacker Kenan Yildiz, who wants a bigger salary. However, Juventus may not be able to offer him that, so reports have said that Arsenal could make a move for the 20-year-old in January, as they’ll be able to offer him a much better wage.
The issue is though; Yildiz is a highly valued player in the Serie A, and reports have said that the Gunners would potentially need to bid at least £66m to tempt Juventus to sell the Turkish attacker. It’s a lot of money for a player that Arsenal don’t necessarily need at this moment, so they should consider alternatives instead.
Arsenal should sign Lille star instead
Amid the rumours linking Arsenal to Yildiz, we decided to put the Turkish attacker into Data MB’s Player Comparison Tool, which compares statistical metrics based on the qualities needed to play certain positions.
It managed to find a 20-year-old winger who plays for Lille in Ligue 1, who has better passing, crossing, and dribbling stats this season. The bigger bonus…He has a market value of just £18m, so could be an absolute bargain.
His name…Matias Fernandez-Pardo. He is a Spain U21s international, who has been a regular feature for Lille this season, making 17 appearances, scoring two goals, and providing four assists. Out of all the stats that matter to wingers, the only one that Yildiz beats the 20-year-old at is scoring goals.
Fernandez-Pardo joined Lille in August 2024 from Belgian side KAA Gent, and he has become one of the most exciting attackers in France. Arsenal should listen to the data, much like Brighton do, and go after the 20-year-old, rather than spending almost £70m on Yildiz.
Click here to see Arsenal’s latest transfer news ahead of the January window.