Arsenal midfielder Matteo Guendouzi could reportedly return to the club next summer if Olympique Marseille do the impossible and drop down from Ligue 1.
According to L’Equipe, the 22-year-old France international will join Marseille permanently next summer. However, the one thing that could derail a move is if Jorge Sampoli’s are relegated from the top-flight.
As per the report, Marseille have an obligatory €11m (£9.3m) option to sign Guendouzi in 2022. The midfielder has been a revelation for the club this season. With Ligue 1’s official website noting that the youngster is ‘revelling’ with Les Phoceens.
With Marseille currently third in the standings and only ever dropping down from Ligue 1 twice in their history, it would take something truly momentous for the French giants to drop down to Ligue 2.
Guendouzi has started all but one game in all competitions for Marseille. The midfielder even took the armband earlier in the month against LOSC Lille. And with Arsenal set to lose the youngster for just £9.3m, it’s another transfer hiccup from the Gunners.
Indeed, the north London side Guendouzi in 2018 for a reported fee of £7m. And this pending sale of Guendouzi is the latest in a long line of mistakes Arsenal have made when it comes to selling players.
Marseille have struck the lottery with Guendouzi
When Guendouzi joined Marseille in the summer, most Arsenal fans believed that the French youngster would flourish back in his home country. And the fee that the Ligue 1 giants will eventually pay for the midfielder is a testament as to how much the Gunners butchered this deal.
Since returning to France, Guendouzi has been called up to Les Bleus and asserted himself as one of the top midfielders in the country. And for Arsenal, they have again allowed a promising talent slip through their fingers for a paltry sum.
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