Ibrahima Diallo has an agreement in place to leave Ligue 1 outfit Brest this summer amid claims that the £20 million midfielder could join Arsenal or Leicester City, sporting director Gregory Lorenzi has told L’Equipe.
If you gave the Gunners the pick of any Premier League player in some dystopian, NFL-style draft situation, surely N’Golo Kante would be right at the top of the London giants’ wishlist.
While Arsenal are lacking in quality throughout an underperforming squad, the lack of star power at the heart of Mikel Arteta’s midfield is perhaps the biggest concern of all.
Some would even argue that the former Premier League champions have not even come close to replacing Gilberto Silva, 12 years after the Brazilian ankle-biter shook hands with Arsene Wenger and rode off into the sunset.
But, if the Star is to be believed, a man known as the ‘new N’Golo Kante’ would not turn down a £20 million move to Arsenal this summer, even if the glory days are a distant memory at the Emirates.
And, a month after those claims were made, a statement from Brest’s sporting director makes for very interesting reading.
“There is an agreement with Ibrahima Diallo, he has a release certificate based on an attractive offer for the player and the club,” Lorenzi says.
“But he does not rule out staying in Brest.”
Leicester will also be watching the situation closely, with 21-year-old Diallo having emerged on the Foxes radar in late-2019.
Onze Mondial claims that Leicester made an unsuccessful £14 million bid in January. And if Diallo can replicate the impact Kante made at the King Power, he would be one hell of a signing.
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