Arsenal Scouts Have ‘Watched’ £60M Rated Algerian Ace – Report
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Arsenal have “stepped up” their pursuit of Bayer Leverkusen attacking midfielder Ibrahim Maza, according to reports.
TEAMtalk claim that Gunners scouts have “watched” the Algerian international in action this season, along with Tottenham.
Manchester City, Chelsea and Aston Villa are the three teams who have been most heavily linked with signing Maza up until now.
However, it appears that the Premier League champions are also firmly in the race to sign the 20-year-old.
What do Arsenal fans need to know about the player?
Maza was born in Germany’s capital, Berlin, and he came through the youth ranks of Hertha before he made his first-team debut against Bayern Munich in April 2023.
He went on to score his first goal for the club against Wolfsburg just under a month later.
Maza’s progress was, however, abruptly halted by a serious knee injury, which meant he missed the first half of the 2023/24 season. He returned to action in February 2024 before establishing himself as a regular starter in the next 18 months. During that period, he also switched allegiances to Algeria, receiving his first senior cap against Togo.
His performances for both club and country were enough to attract the attention of Leverkusen, who signed him for €12m in July last year. During his first campaign at the BayArena, Maza scored 5 goals and provided 7 assists in 44 appearances.
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Maza will not be sold on the cheap
Reports in the German media claim that Leverkusen have slapped an asking price of between €65m (£56m) and €70m (£60m) on the attacking midfielder.
Those figures would not be beyond Arsenal’s reach, but you do question whether Maza would be a top priority. He is ostensibly a No.10, and sporting director Andrea Berta is said to be focused on recruiting either a winger or a No.9.