Arsenal’s Albert Sambi Lokonga has been on loan at Sevilla since last summer and is keen on making his stay permanent.
On February 5th, the midfielder publicly talked about his desire to continue with the La Liga side beyond the loan spell.
Later that month, the Arsenal man’s agent had a meeting with Sevilla. Claims from Spain stated that the talks between the two parties have been ‘fluid’.
Vamos Mi Sevilla FC now claims the Spanish club ‘slow down’ the possibility of extending the 25-year-old’s stay.
Lokonga played just over 1,200 minutes from 16 games in all competitions this season. His game time were partly restricted due to a hamstring problem. He suffered a setback at the start of this season that kept him out of action for close to a month.
The Belgian picked up a hamstring injury in February and is yet to make an appearance since then. Due to his recurring injuries, the report states Sevilla don’t want to rush and want to ‘proceed with caution’ about buying him.
For now, the Andalusian club are holding back to exercise the €12m purchase option. The report adds the Gunners would have to negotiate a lower price considering Lokonga is keen on staying.
This could be Sevilla’s tactic to put pressure on Arsenal to reduce the price, considering Lokonga’s contract at the Emirates expires in 2026.