Mikel Arteta is pushing Arsenal to bring Josip Brekalo to the Premier League with Wolfsburg planning to sell the Croatia international, as reported by Corriere dello Sport.
You would have been forgiven for assuming Brekalo is far older than he actually is.
The Zagreb-born winger has played over 100 Bundesliga games during five years at Wolfsburg, all the while earning 22 caps for the Croatian national team. It is hard to believe, then, that Brekalo won’t even turn 23 until June.
We have only scratched the surface of his vast potential so far.
While the 2020/21 campaign was hardly the best of Brekalo’s young career – a stunning hat-trick against Union Berlin in early-May the undoubted highlight – reported interest from Atalanta, Atletico Madrid and Jose Mourinho’s Roma is a reflection of his vast potential.
Corriere dello Sport claims that Arteta would love Arsenal to bring the former Dinamo Zagreb youngster to the Emirates, with Wolfsburg expected to sell to the highest bidder despite sealing Champions League qualification via a fourth-placed Bundesliga finish.
The Express reported earlier this month that Bayern Munich, Leeds United and an Everton side desperate to add more creativity and unpredictability in the final third are also interested.
Famed for cutting in from the flank before firing shots at goal, Brekalo has been labelled ‘Croatia’s Arjen Robben’ by some – despite being more comfortable on his right foot rather than on his left, in stark contrast to Bayern’s legendary Dutchman.
Given his stylistic similarities to Nicolas Pepe, it is not hard to imagine Brekalo dovetailing nicely with the Ivorian at Arsenal next season, offering real balance on the flanks.
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