The Levante UD star is thought to be in high demand.placeholder image
The Levante UD star is thought to be in high demand. | Getty Images
Levante UD star Etta Eyong has been linked with a move to the Premier League in January.
Arsenal and Manchester United have suffered a quickfire transfer blow in any potential pursuit of highly rated Levante UD star Etta Eyong.
The versatile midfielder and forward has been in sublime form in La Liga so far this season with six goals and three assists in just 11 appearances. The Cameroon international is believed to have turned the heads of top European sides.
It’s been a meteoric rise for Eyong, who was playing in the Spanish third tier last season, where he scored 19 goals in 30 outings before being handed his La Liga debut. The forward then joined Levante in September on a four-year deal.
Arsenal and Man Utd dealt transfer blow
Despite having just made that move the front page of Mundo Deportivo last week claimed that Arsenal, Manchester United and Manchester City were all monitoring a potential move for the in-form star. The report added that a transfer could be facilitated by a €30 million release clause in his contract - although Premier League clubs will have to pay €40 million (£35 million) to activate that clause.
Levante CEO José Danvila has now spoken about those rumours in an interview with Radio Marca and was asked about the possibility of selling Eyong in the January window. He replied: “No. In fact, I’m already hearing some rumours about Etta Eyong. We receive offers for him every day. The player isn’t going to be sold. He won’t leave this winter. Mainly because our priority is to stay up. It doesn’t make sense to make an effort in the summer and then sell him in the winter.
“The club’s greatest asset is staying in the first division, even if a very large sum of money comes in. We’ll analyse the situation when the season ends. If we stay in the first division, there will be a re-evaluation of the squad. The club will continue to work with the current squad until May 17th, and if a good opportunity arises in the winter transfer window, we will consider it.”
Levante reject ‘firm offer’ for Etta Eyong
Danvila went on to confirm that there is yet to be an approach from a Premier League side or from Barcelona, who are also linked. He did, however, say that a ‘firm offer’ for the player had been rejected.
Arsenal could be in the market for added goalpower once again in January. The Gunners forked out £55 million to sign Viktor Gyokeres this summer but a new muscular injury has left Mikel Arteta ‘concerned’ this week.
The striker came off at half time during the 2-0 win against Burnley last weekend and, after the game, Arteta said: "He's definitely not available. He hasn't trained today and we need to do some more tests and scans over the next few days to understand the full extent of the injury. This game, he's not available.
"I am concerned. Because he hasn't had many muscular issues, and he needed to leave the pitch and he was feeling something. It's never a good sign for a player who is explosive. We are digging in a little bit more to understand the extent and where we are in terms of the injury."
In other news, 'Absolutely unprecedented' - Slavia Praha boss left in disbelief over two Arsenal players.
Continue Reading