Reported Arsenal target Nicolas Tagliafico has an agreement to leave Ajax this summer with a host of clubs expressing an interest, the Argentina international’s agent has told Radio del Plata in quotes translated by Mundo Albiceleste.
By the time the 2020/21 season kicks off, there may be no one left from the Ajax side that came so close to conquering the whole of Europe a year ago.
Hakim Ziyech has joined Matthijs de Ligt and Frenkie de Jong in sealing a move to one of the continent’s biggest clubs while Donny Van de Beek, Andre Onana and Daley Blind appear to be packing their bags too.
With a paucity of genuine top-class left-backs in the game today, it felt like only a matter of time before Tagliafico entered the gossip columns too.
According to the Sun, Arsenal are keen on the diminutive defender. What’s more, the £20 million-rated Tagliafico is open to the idea of joining Mikel Arteta’s side as he is desperate to prove he’s got what it takes to thrive in the Premier League.
“We are looking for a transfer for Tagliafico. We have agreed with Ajax that he would leave this year. After having spent two and a half seasons at the club, it’s the ideal moment,” Ricardo Schlieper, the Eredivisie champion’s agent, has admitted.
“If football goes back to being normal, a transfer could be done for Tagliafico. There are clubs that are interested but we have to see how everything pans out (with the ongoing global health crisis).”
Arsenal’s interest perhaps opens the door for teen sensation Bukayo Saka to move forward into a more attacking role, despite the fact that the most prolific assist-maker in Arteta’s squad has been a revelation at left-back in recent months.
Tagliafico, like Saka, is a reliable source of goals from a so-called ‘defensive’ position. He has a happy habit of popping up in the six-yard box like a seasoned poacher, with 11 goals and 13 assists to his name since the start of last season.
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