LIVE
...

Follow us on

Soccer Transfer News

‘Big teams’: 20-goal striker told to join Arsenal or Tottenham

Photo by Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images
Photo by Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images
Follow us on Google Discover
Photo by Gabriele Maltinti/Getty Images

Serie A goal-machine Simy should set his sights on Arsenal or Tottenham Hotspur if he’s planning to make a summer move to the Premier League, former Nigeria international Christian Obodo has told All Nigeria Soccer.

Italian football’s answer to Patrick Bamford, the late-blooming striker spent the whole of last season shutting up everyone who felt he’d struggle to make the step up to life in the top flight.

Simeon ‘Simy’ Nwankwo scored a remarkable 20 goals in 37 Serie A games in 2020/21, more than Lorenzo Insigne, Duvan Zapata, Andrea Belotti, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Liverpool-linked Lautaro Martinez.

But while Simy thrived last season his club, Crotone, struggled.

The Nigerian’s stunning goals return wasn’t enough to save the Rossoblu from relegation, a 19th place finish consigning them to the drop.

And it seems unlikely that Simy will stick around for another season of Serie B football, especially with Brighton and Hove Albion eyeing a bargain £6 million deal for the four-cap target man (TMW).

Could Simy make a dream move to Arsenal this summer?

But, according to another Nigerian who spent his best years in Italy, Simy should be aiming higher than Graham Potter’s Seagulls.

Photo by Matteo Ciambelli/DeFodi Images via Getty Images

“If Simy wants to move to England, (he should) not join Brighton. He should go somewhere like Arsenal or Tottenham Hotspur, the big teams,” Obodo says.

Tottenham and Arsenal are both in the market for a new number nine, with doubts surrounding the futures of Harry Kane and Alexandre Lacazette.

The 6ft 6in Simy also recently admitted he’s an Arsenal fan at heart, having grown up admiring former Highbury hero Kanu. 29-year-old Simy has four caps for the Nigerian national team.

1 Aug 1999: Nwankwo Kanu of Arsenal celebrates his goal during the FA Charity Shield match against Manchester United played at Wembley Stadium in London, England. The match finished in a 2-1 victory to the Arsenal. Mandatory Credit: Stu Forster /Allsport