Transfer News: Arsenal ‘Finalising’ Double Deal – Agent Urges Striker Talks

With the January transfer window in full flow clubs are working hard to try and strengthen their squad for the second half of the season, so we’ll keep you up-to-date with all the latest Arsenal news, gossip and rumours. Today, Arsenal are in talks over a double deal but the agent of a French striker denies we’re close to reaching an agreement.

Arsenal in talks over double deal

First up and talkSPORT are carrying quotes from an agent who claims he is close to finalising a deal with Arsenal for the signings of Nigerian youngsters Musa Yahaya and Chidera Ezeh.

The pair put in some impressive displays as Nigeria won the Under-17 World Cup in November 2013 and it seems they caught the eye of Gunners boss Arsene Wenger. Yahaya is a 16-year-old left winger who was one of the stars of the tournament, scoring four goals in four games, while Ezeh is a young striker who bagged one goal and is highly-rated in his homeland.

We’ve seemingly made a move to try and sign the youngsters with their representative, Ken Van Deyck, telling talkSPORT on Thursday that he is close to finalising a deal with Arsenal that would see them move to north London. However, it appears we’ve got serious competition from Benfica, with van Deyck claiming the Portuguese outfit are also in the running for their signatures.

“We are finalising a deal with Arsenal and Benfica, who I am talking to as exclusive European representative for both players” van Deyck told talkSPORT.

Obviously these two aren’t the big-money signings fans are hoping for this month and they will be investments for the future if we do end up bringing them to the Emirates. But we’re up against Benfica and they have an excellent track record of signing promising young foreigners and turning them into big-name players, so we’ll have to see if we manage to win the race.

No deal for Ntep

Next up and the Express are quoting the agent of Auxerre striker Paul-Georges Ntep who claims that there is no agreement in place for the youngster to join Arsenal but has urged the club start talks.

Ntep has been linked with a move to the Emirates Stadium in recent weeks with reports claiming we were in talks with the Ligue 1 outfit over a potential £8m switch.

However, while the agent of the 21-year-old, Mario Knez, has insisted no agreement has been reached with either us or Roma, he claims that Auxerre are ready to negotiate with any interested party.

“An agreement with Arsenal? There’s no truth to that.

“And Roma also interested? No, at the moment there have been no contacts with them.

“Is he leaving in January? It’s certainly an option, he is having a great season and Auxerre are ready to start a negotiation.”

Ntep has been in excellent form this season and is clearly a talented player but if we do end up signing him this month, I hope he’s not the only striker we bring in. He’s not at the level we need to compete for the Premier League title and I don’t think he’ll really have any significant impact on the first team during the second half of the season.

It would also be a strange move by Wenger when you consider we have Yaya Sanogo and even Joel Campbell on the books already, so I personally think we have enough promising young strikers at the club.

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So there’s your latest dose of Arsenal transfer news, let us know your thoughts in the comments section.