According to Caught Offside, Arsenal have joined Tottenham Hotspur in the race to sign Saint-Etienne striker Djylian N’Guessan.
The Gunners had a good summer transfer window. They signed Eberechi Eze, Viktor Gyokeres and Noni Madueke to bolster their attacking department. Mikel Arteta’s side are also planning for the future with young recruits. They recently reached an agreement to land Shamrock Rovers’ Victor Ozhianvuna.
Caught Offside now claim that the Gunners are closely monitoring the progress of 17-year-old N’Guessan at Saint-Etienne. The France Under-20 international has reportedly impressed for the Ligue 2 outfit, and the Gunners are ‘expected’ to battle it out with their arch-rivals Tottenham for his signature.
Agent-driven
The 17-year-old made eight appearances for Saint-Etienne last season, but did not find the back of the net. He primarily played as a centre-forward, but also operated from the right and left wing for the French outfit.
The youngster has yet to feature for Saint-Etienne after their demotion to Ligue 2, but he was a regular at the Under-20 World Cup for France. He made seven appearances as a striker, but failed to score in any.
Based on this, we believe the speculation could be agent-driven. N’Guessan had a passing accuracy of 93% at the global tournament, but he managed just 3 shots on target and missed 1 big chance for his country.
There is nothing to suggest that he is a top-class talent. N’Guessan needs to prove himself at the senior level with Saint-Etienne first. Guiding the club back to the French top-flight with goals would boost his reputation.
Until then, we are not convinced that Arsenal or Spurs will make a serious approach to land his signature. Regardless of this, N’Guessan won’t be able to join a Premier League outfit until he turns 18 years of age.
He only turned 17 on the 30th of August and hence, a January transfer to the English top-flight is out of question. A late summer transfer before the deadline could be on, if he manages to impress the talent-spotters.
Arsenal should have a good working relationship with Saint-Etienne after William Saliba’s signing back in 2019. He was loaned back to the French club. This could hand them an advantage if they opt to pursue a future deal for N’Guessan.