Arsenal have expressed interest in signing Eintracht Frankfurt left winger Jean-Matteo Bahoya, according to SPORT1.
The 20-year-old came through the ranks at Ligue 1 side Angers, where he made 32 appearances for the club. While his goalscoring numbers weren’t outstanding, Frankfurt, in their usual successful recruitment fashion, deemed the forward good enough for their squad and signed him in January 2024.
Remarkably, he has already matched last season’s two-goal returns total in the current season, finding the net twice in Frankfurt’s first game of the season against Werder Bremen and following that with an assist against Hoffenheim.
Although his output in front of goal has cooled recently, he remains a constant threat whenever called upon, and his potential remains evidently clear whenever he’s on the pitch.
Several clubs are now looking to poach him to bolster their frontline with the transfer window now fast approaching.
One of the clubs keeping tabs on him is Premier League giants Arsenal, according to SPORT1, which claims that the North London club have expressed interest in signing the France U21 international to bolster Mikel Arteta’s attack.
Bahoya still has a contract at Deutsche Bank Park that runs until 2029, so it won’t be an easy deal unless a significant amount is paid, with the German outlet adding that Frankfurt’s sporting director, Markus Krösche, has internally set a £70m valuation on the Frenchman amid interest from Arsenal.
Speedster
Following the failed transfer saga that saw Mykhaylo Mudryk join Chelsea at the last minute after the Gunners were locked in talks for a long time before losing out, one thing is clear: Mikel Arteta has a keen interest in wingers with speed.
This is evident again in the Gunners’ interest in Bahoya, one of the Bundesliga’s speedsters in recent seasons.
The 20-year-old earned recognition as the quickest player to feature in the Bundesliga since at least the 2011–12 campaign, achieving the milestone during Frankfurt’s matchday-26 clash with Bochum last season.
He clocked an extraordinary 23.09 mph (37.16 km/h), making him the first footballer in the league’s recorded data to break both the 23-mph and 37-km/h thresholds.
For comparison, Bahoya’s peak pace came remarkably close to Usain Bolt’s average speed of 23.35 mph (37.58 km/h) when the Jamaican set his 100-metre world record at the 2009 World Championships.
Frankfurt’s sales of Omar Marmoush and Hugo Ekitike are proof that the Bundesliga club will not reduce their steep valuation of Bahoya, so it’ll be interesting to see if Arsenal will cough up £70m or move on to other affordable alternatives.
