According to sources from France, Arsenal and manager Mikel Arteta are interested in acquiring Montpellier striker Elye Wahi, but they will have to contend with fierce competition.
What are the most recent Arsenal transfer rumors?
Since the start of the transfer window, the Gunners have been extremely active as sporting director Edu tries to support Arteta with high-profile recruits. Despite being in the lead for the majority of the 2022–2023 season, Arsenal lost the championship to eventual treble winners Man City.
In response, they moved quickly to the transfer market, signing contracts for players like Kai Havertz from Chelsea, defender Jurrien Timber, and Declan Rice from West Ham United for a club-record £105 million.
The latter player is particularly important for Arteta, as the 24-year-old surpasses both Jack Grealish (Man City) and Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid) to become England’s most expensive player ever.
Although rumours suggest they’re currently looking more at outgoings to balance the books, it is claimed Arteta and co. are seeking an electrifying young striker. Additional additions haven’t been ruled out, too, as the north Londoners have an interest in Southampton teenager Romeo Lavia among others.
Arsenal and Newcastle are both reportedly interested in signing Wahi from Montpellier this summer, according to the French news source Foot Mercato. Both parties are thought to be interested in the Frenchman, but if they’re serious, they could need to move quickly and formalise their interest.
Attempts will be made to sign the 20-year-old, who is also on the roster of Bundesliga club Eintracht Frankfurt, by Strasbourg, a team that Todd Boehly, the owner of Chelsea, recently purchased.
The outlet elaborates on Arsenal’s interest in Wahi by saying that the north Londoners must first make a sale before making a move for Wahi.
Arsenal, who must sell Folarin Balogun, as well as Newcastle, who are constantly on the search for a good opportunity, are both on the lookout on the England side.
The club-trained player who finished eighth in Ligue 1 in the 2022–2023 season is, in any case, about to take on a new task.
The skill level of Elye Wahi?
The talented young forward, who scored 19 goals and provided five assists in 33 Ligue 1 appearances last season, has received acclaim for his enormous potential from both the media and club executives.
In terms of what he was capable of, he was two or three years ahead of his contemporaries, according to Pierre Ville, a former Suresnes club president.
“He outperformed them rapidly.
“I saw him score a volley with the ball falling vertically out of the sky during a tournament that we hosted, like watching [Zinedine] Zidane in the 2002 Champions League final, but the boy was only 11 years old!”
Wahi has been referred to be a “real beast” of a forward who will “definitely explode” by journalist Andrés Onrubia Ramos.
Ramos tweeted the following:
(2003) Elye Wahi. We are dealing with a striker who will score more than ten goals per season if he is able to refine the criteria. A true space beast that also leaves intriguing associative artefacts. It should undoubtedly blow up.