Arsenal have many lucky escapes and more than a few missed opportunities in the transfer market, and Joelson Fernandes looks more like the former.
The list of players Arsene Wenger missed out on reads like Chris Jericho’s list of holds.
From N’Golo Kante to Vincent Kompany, from Yaya Toure to Luis Suarez, Arsenal’s nearly men are dotted around the world.
In the case of winger Joelson, he finds himself sitting on the bench with Basel in Switzerland.
Cast your mind back to the summer of 2020. Money was at a premium in light of the global pandemic, and Arsenal were having to be calculated.
However, reports in Portugal suggested that Arsenal were chasing a huge deal for Sporting winger Joelson.
The fee quoted was £41million, with agent Kia Joorabchian seemingly working as an intermediary in any deal.
The summer window ended in 2020 without Joelson making the move to Arsenal, and he finds himself in a tough situation this season.
Joelson has been farmed out on loan to Basel, but is spending most of his time on the bench or in the stands.
Joelson’s total league minutes played this season stands at just 57, with Basel seemingly not willing to give him a start.
The young winger has yet to even play more than 20 minutes in a league game this season, with his loan in Switzerland yet to really pay off.
It looks like Joelson is struggling to make an impact in Switzerland but still has around 18 months left on his loan deal.
At just 18, Joelson has plenty of time to turn things around and get back on track, but he will have to go some way to justify the £41million price tag Arsenal considered paying.
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