Writing in his column for Caught Offside, Fabrizio Romano has provided an update on the race to sign Yves Bissouma this summer.
Bissouma has been discussed as a potential target for multiple clubs over the past 12 months including Arsenal and Liverpool, but according to Romano, the trail has gone cold with the Malian.
Indeed, the journalist says that a move to Aston Villa is seemingly now off the cards, while Arsenal are prioritising a move for Leicester City’s Youri Tielemans ahead of Bissouma.
What’s the story?
Romano gave an update on the Brighton midfielder.
“There was much talk about Yves Bissouma a few months ago, but it’s gone a little quiet recently, and it seems a move to Aston Villa is now not happening,” Romano wrote.
“Still, his agent has had conversations with many top clubs in recent times, but so far Brighton want to wait for a sale: the price for Bissouma has always been close to €40/45m.”
“Arsenal have been following him for months but the priority is to understand if they can complete the Youri Tielemans deal, while Manchester United have yet to decide who will be the final priority target of the midfield. As I’ve written before, it could be more likely that they pursue Frenkie de Jong, but there are challenges with that deal.”
Who’s the better option?
This must have been a hard decision for Edu and the higher-ups at Arsenal to make.
Both Tielemans and Bissouma are incredibly talented players, and choosing between them is no easy task.
Of course, they’re both rather different players. Tielemans is your traditional deep-lying playmaker, his main strength is his ball-striking and passing ability, while Bissouma is more about dribbling, work-rate and skill on the ball.
Arsenal feel as though Tielemans is the better option at this point, and we’re sure there are some that agree with that view.
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