Arsenal have been quick to beef up their armoury this summer under the tutelage of Unai Emery. The former Paris Saint-Germain manager has already lured Lucas Torreira, Bernd Leno, Sokratis, Matteo Guendouzi and Stephan Lichtsteiner to tighten up the areas that required to be redressed but is still active in the transfer market for some more new signings.
As per one of the latest reports by Daily Star, Emery has placed FC Porto’s Hector Herrera on his radar. Herrera has been playing a pivotal role in the midfield of the Portuguese giants and helped them clinch the Primeira Liga title last term. Besides, he impressed for the Mexican national side in the World Cup and earned rave reviews from the football fraternity for his performances.
Herrera is expected to move to new pastures before the new season kicks off and apparently, there is no shortage of his admirers. Inter Milan, Roma, Everton and West Ham United are perceived to be in the hunt to make him sign on the dotted line. His future seems to be unclear but Arsenal would definitely lay their hands on a quality player if they bring him to the Emirates Stadium.
In 29 league appearances for Porto last season, Herrera scored 3 goals and garnered 4 assists. He completed 84.7% of his passes and apart from that, he mustered 2.8 tackles, 1.6 interceptions, 0.8 clearances and 0.2 blocks per game on an average. Capable of operating as a central defensive midfielder, central midfielder as well as a central attacking midfielder, he is a utility player who is up for the task in more than one role.
The 28-year-old is an astute passer of the ball, is good in the air and has gathered enough experience to be able to make a difference at a club like Arsenal. Further, he is a tough tackler and reads the game exceptionally well.
He certainly doesn’t have experience of English football but owing to his attributes, adjusting to the same shouldn’t be a great cause of concern for him. Herrera is under a contract with Porto until the end of the 2018-19 campaign and has a release clause of £35million. However, Porto would be willing to negotiate so that they don’t lose their coveted star on a free transfer next year.
Statistics Credits: WhoScored
