The Mohamed Elneny to Arsenal rumours are snowballing into something serious, and have now been confirmed by BBC journalist David Ornstein.
All good football fans know that you can’t believe everything you read on the internet, and no deal is done until you read it on your club’s official website. The next best thing is hearing the news on Sky Sports or the BBC though, so if Ornstein is reporting the story then it certainly has some weight behind it.
#Arsenal in talks with #FCBasel to sign Egypt midfielder Mohamed Elneny. 23, needs work permit, is eligible for CL pic.twitter.com/SMWr7F3qEB
— David Ornstein (@bbcsport_david) December 27, 2015
We’re reportedly already in contact with the Egyptian international, with an extremely reasonable £5m fee being touted (via the BBC). The report claims the 23-year-old would also need a work permit, although as he’s a fully fledged international that shouldn’t be a problem.
He would also be eligible to play in the Champions League, with Swiss side FC Basel failing to qualify this year after a surprise defeat at the hands of Maccabi Tel Aviv in the Play-off round.
Elneny looks to be a quality player, and has been a massive part of Basel’s title winning side over the last few years. Arsene Wenger clearly sees the midfielder as a player capable of filling in for Francis Coquelin while he’s injured (via Arsenal.com), but also someone who can play a part in the team long after the Frenchman returns.
With Coquelin out for an undetermined amount of time, signing someone to replace him in January is absolutely key. But even with the 24-year-old fully fit, we still can’t go through a whole season with only one player in defensive midfield. We’ve needed a real defensive midfielder for years, but now that we’ve got Coquelin we can’t run him into the ground.
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Hopefully Ornstein is right about the imminent move, and Elneny actually becomes an Arsenal man in the next few weeks.
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