Arsenal
Arsenal Trump Liverpool After Agreeing £35.3m Deal To Sign French Midfielder
Arsenal appear to have won the race to land Steven N’Zonzi after agreeing a deal worth £35.3m with Sevilla to sign the midfielder in January
The January transfer window is just around the corner meaning clubs are working hard on potential deals so we’ll bring you all the latest gossip from around the globe. Today, Steven N’Zonzi is linked with Arsenal…
Arsenal appear to have won the race to land Steven N’Zonzi after agreeing a deal worth £35.3m with Sevilla to sign the midfielder in January, according to reports in Spain via the Daily Mail.
N’Zonzi enjoyed time at Blackburn Rovers and Stoke City during his six years plying his trade here in the Premier League before joining Sevilla in the summer of 2015.
However, his future in Spain has been in serious doubt in recent week’s as he’s not featured for the La Liga club since being substituted at half-time during their Champions League draw with Liverpool last month.
The midfielder stormed out of the stadium at half-time following a bust-up with Eduardo Berizzo after the boss supposedly blamed N’Zonzi for the team being 3-0 down at the break.
It’s led to speculation that the French midfielder will be on the move in January and N’Zonzi confirmed in an interview last week that he sees his future away from Sevilla.
He’s quoted as saying by the Daily Mail:
‘The coach pointed the finger at me [at half-time of the Liverpool game]. I will not repeat it… but his words affected me,’
‘Publicly, he said in future he would only select players who fit his vision for football. What does that mean?
‘Whether in a 4-3-3, 3-5-2 or any other formation, a player must adapt to what his coach demands and I have always done it.
‘The fact I was always professional despite the circumstances, that I always did my job, I found it unfair.
‘My future is clearly away from Seville. The only thing that disappoints me is the way it has ended.’
It appears N’Zonzi’s situation alerted clubs here in England as the Mirror reported last week that Arsenal and Liverpool were among the clubs showing a keen interest in signing the midfielder.
Jurgen Klopp is believed to be in the market for midfield reinforcements as Emre Can is out of contract in June and looks increasingly unlikely to sign a new deal so N’Zonzi could be viewed as a potential replacement.
However, it looks like the Merseysiders may have missed out as the Daily Mail are citing a report from El Gol that claims Arsenal have now agreed a deal to sign the 28-year-old this winter.
The Spanish publication says the Gunners will pay Sevilla an initial fee of £32.7m to sign N’Zonzi with a further £2.6m coming in bonuses meaning the deal is worth a total of £35.3m.
Arsene Wenger needs to add to his midfield options as Santi Cazorla is currently sidelined with a serious Achilles injury and Jack Wilshere’s future is in doubt as his contract expires in June.
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It remains to be seen how much truth there is behind these reports but I think N’Zonzi would be a solid signing for Arsenal if they have managed to get a deal agreed for his signature in January.
