Arsenal turned down the chance to sign Alex Grimaldo and the perennially Premier League-linked Spaniard is now in ‘unbelievable’ form for Bundesliga pacesetters Bayer Leverkusen.
Did any club in European football enjoy a more successful summer window than Xabi Alonso’s record-equalling Leverkusen outfit?
Granit Xhaka, Victor Boniface, Jonas Hoffman and Alex Grimaldo. You’d certainly struggle to find four better signings anywhere in Europe, the crafty quartet combining to devastating effect as Leverkusen took their tally to 31 of a potential 33 points during Sunday’s 4-0 hammering of Union Berlin.
Barely a window went by, during his time at Benfica, without Grimaldo being linked to one Premier League club or another. According to Fabrizio Romano, the one-time Barcelona youngster was even ‘offered’ to Arsenal during the summer of 2022.
Arsenal turned down Alex Grimaldo chance
“Grimaldo was offered to Arsenal last summer,” Romano explains. “But they decided to proceed with (Oleksandr) Zinchenko as their priority target.”
Now, we are not suggesting for a second that Arsenal should have shelved Zinchenko and brought in Grimaldo instead. Zinchenko was, lest we forget, a star performer as the Gunners came within touching distance of the Premier League title last term. An integral cog in Mikel Arteta’s tactical machine.
Grimaldo, however, might just be the best left-back in European football at present. He’s certainly the best value, pound-for-pound, joining Leverkusen on a free transfer when his contract at Benfica expired in July.
‘So special’
“It’s unbelievable, the quality he has,” Alonso told Sky Sports’ Bundesliga highlights show over the weekend, Grimaldo opening the scoring with a stunning, swerving effort before setting up Jonathan Tah, taking his tally to a remarkable eight goals and six games in 17 games.
“He can score from so many positions. So when I saw the goal, it was so special.”
According to AS, Newcastle United held talks with Grimaldo in March, while Nottingham Forest and Fulham also expressed an interest of their own.
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