Arsenal have joined the race to land a new midfielder this summer, and could yet walk away with a bargain.
Question marks in Arsenal's engine room
There is no doubt that the Gunners failed to replace Granit Xhaka in the heart of their midfield last summer, with the Switzerland international heading to Bayer Leverkusen to become a key part of their success this season.
Replacing him with Kai Havertz, Mikel Arteta's side have missed Xhaka's box-to-box tenacity despite still being top of the Premier League as things stand.
There are bigger question marks over their midfield this summer too; though Declan Rice remains a long term part of the engine room, both Thomas Partey and Jorginho will be approaching the end of their contracts in north London, and decisions will have to be made about their futures. Mohamed Elneny will also be out of contract, but replacing the Egyptian is less of a concern given his few minutes this season.
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But midfield reinforcements are certain to arrive, and Arsenal are likely to need at least one, with an alternative to Rice also likely to be high on Edu Gaspar's shopping list as well as a more natural "number eight" to play alongside Martin Odegaard further forward.
Arsenal's current midfield options
Player
Premier League starts
Martin Odegaard
31
Declan Rice
33
Jorginho
10
Thomas Partey
5
Mohamed Elneny
0
Fabio Vieira
2
Emile Smith Rowe
3
With money tight and a striker also on the agenda, they may have to make some (relatively) lower cost additions in places to fund bigger moves. Now, they seemingly have the opportunity to do just that.
Gunners in race for Frenchman
That is according to French outlet Foot Mercato, who claim that Arsenal are one of several clubs tracking Monaco midfielder Youssouf Fofana. The 25-year-old midfielder will be down to the last year of his contract in the south of France come this summer, and may decide it is time for pastures new after seeing a move to West Ham United fall through last summer.
He is unlikely to be an expensive addition for whoever snaps him up; valued at £24m by Transfermarkt, last summer it was suggested that £30m would be enough to tempt Monaco into selling and, with 12 months less now on his contract, it is unlikely they would be demanding more this time around.
For that money, interested clubs could be landing a gem. Football Analyst Ben Mattinson described the Frenchman as "under-valued" and "technically brilliant" who could "be whatever you need in midfield".
All that in a man who currently takes home just £4,600 per week on his Monaco contract. The Gunners are not alone in their admiration, with Foot Mercato adding that PSG, Athletico De Madrid and AC Milan are all also tracking the player, who could be one of the bargain buys of the summer.
But, with the power and finances on offer to the Gunners, they are likely to be the winners of that particular fight if they really want to be.
