Arsene Wenger’s knack to add blossoming youngsters with eye-catching calibre into his ranks is something that has been perennially seen. Wenger has, time and again, laid stress to the growth of development of potential next generation superstars and the latest report of Arsenal’s pursuit to lure Aymen Barkok isn’t really a surprise.
For a fee which is rumoured to be £8.8million, Wenger appears to be in the mood to make the most of the summer transfer window, having already snapped Sead Kolasinac and Alexandre Lacazette to bolster his squad. The squad already looks capable enough to impose themselves as serious title contenders next season and there is a possibility that we could be set to see a deal or two around the corner.
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Barkok emerged through the youth ranks of SG Praunheim, Rot-Weiss Frankfurt, Kickers Offenbach and Eintracht Frankfurt, and went on to carve a name for himself in the senior side of the Eagles. The 19-year-old accumulated 18 appearances to his name in the German top flight (12 of which have come as a substitute), and he fared quite well to make and no wonder the North London based outfit are tracking him.
A versatile winger who can ply his trade as a central midfielder, central attacking midfielder as well as on the right midfield, Barkok mustered 1.4 tackles, 1.1 interceptions and 0.2 clearances per game on an average in the limited opportunities he received and also banged in 2 goals and provided as many assists. Although he is far from being a polished player, making a move to the Emirates Stadium can be a crucial one to enhance his career for the better.
The former German Under17 international is an excellent dribbler, has the tendency to shoot from the distance and has an inclination to play long balls. Besides, he caters to the defensive duties pretty well and has shown that if he is given adequate amount of chances to thrive, he can orchestrate the tempo of the game from the middle of the park pretty well.
Monsieur Wenger already has a plethora of world class players in his midfield setup, so it would be interesting to see where he stations the youngster. Although one might presume that a loan deal might be on the cards as he is seemingly likely to be looked upon as an asset for the future, it all depends upon how the deal churns out.
Statistics Credits: Whoscored
