Arsenal now leading the race to sign club’s No.22 with agent currently in London

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Arsenal are now leading the race to sign Ibrahima Bamba from Vitória Guimarães as speculation intensifies.

What’s the story?

Well, it seems as if Mikel Arteta is now focusing on bringing a new central midfielder to the Emirates Stadium, amid fears that Mohamed Elneny will miss the remainder of the season through injury.

It was the Mirror who first claimed that Arsenal are interested in signing Bamba.

Now, an update has emerged from Jornal de Notícias.

The Portuguese news outlet believe Arsenal are at the front of the queue to sign Bamba, who has a release clause worth €30m (£26m) written into his contract with the Primeira Liga side.

With Elneny possibly out for the rest of the season, speculation surrounding the Italian – who wears the No.22 shirt for Vitória Guimarães – moving to Arsenal is beginning to intensify as Bamba’s agent has also confirmed he is in England.

Filipe Macedo Alves – who owns FMA Sports – revealed he is currently in London on his official Instagram account on Wednesday, with Jornal de Notícias specifically mentioning that a deal could be done quickly because of that.

Bamba – who plays as a defensive midfielder – has made 23 appearances in all competitions so far this season, while he was also called up to a training camp by Roberto Mancini with a potential debut for Italy on the horizon.

Arsenal should consider Bamba carefully

In our view, Arsenal must take their time over a potential bid for Bamba.

While the 20-year-old would represent a cheaper option for the Gunners than Moises Caicedo and Declan Rice, his lack of experience means he could easily end up being another Albert Sambi Lokonga.

The Belgium international showed great promise outside of English football with Anderlecht, although he has struggled since moving to the Premier League.

Of course, no two players are the same, but given the fact Arteta does not seem satisfied with Lokonga as a backup option in the absence of Elneny, Arsenal must be careful about Bamba going down a similar path to the Belgian.