Daily Mail has reported that Arsenal have ‘enquired about’ the signing of Barcelona defender Mikayil Faye, joining a long list of suitors for the Senegalese international.
Bayer Levekusen, Bayern Munich and Liverpool have all declared interest in Faye, while Manchester United have sent scouts to watch him play for his national side, the report adds, so Arsenal face stiff competition.
Xavi had plans to integrate the Barca B youngster into the first-team squad and ‘rates the teenager highly’, but the Catalans need to raise funds in the summer and could cash-in on Faye.
The Mail says that Barcelona have ‘recognised’ that Faye, despite being highly-regarded at the club, could be sold north of £17 million – a valuable cash influx in helping the Blaugrana alleviate their financial turbulence.
Faye is primarily a centre-back but is also capable of playing at left-back. Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal have monitored various left-backs ahead of the summer and the 19-year-old is the latest to be linked with them.
Faye too inexperienced for Arsenal
As good a talent as Faye may be, he is simply too inexperienced to play regularly for Arsenal, who will once again be expected to mount a challenge for the Premier League title next season.
Faye has only played a handful of friendlies for the Barcelona first-team and although he has appeared for the Senegal side, his lack of experience does not warrant being a priority for a league contender right away.
Arsenal are looking to add a first-choice left-back, so it is imperative that they bring in a name with substantial experience who is ready to hit the ground running.
Their long-time target Jorrel Hato fits the bill having played a key role for Ajax Amsterdam last season. The Eredivisie giants did not enjoy the best of campaigns, but Hato was a standout performer.
Faye, however, might be a good back-up signing with Oleksandr Zinchenko having fallen out of Arteta’s favour and could compete with the primary choice left-back for minutes in the first-team.
He is currently busy with international commitments for Senegal, but once formal talks open, there will be competition for Faye’s signature from across Europe.
