According to various reports, Arsenal are keeping close tabs on Rennes’ young midfielder Paul-Georges Ntep, whose current deal is set to expire at the end of the season. That pretty much means Rennes may have little choice but to cash in on the 24-year-old. It seems a move is quite imminent and January could be the time.
Arsenal, however, won’t be have it easy in landing the French youngster as the 24-year old has a lot of suitors in Liverpool, Southampton and Chelsea from the Premier League itself. Lazio remain another club who are tracking him at the moment.
At 24, the attacking midfielder is fast approaching his peak and could be a vital asset to have in any team. The left-footed midfielder has appeared 9 times for Rennes this season, assisting 4 times. Ntep’s dribbling abilities have attracted attention from a lot of bigger clubs and his eye for short passes and perfect through balls, beating the offside trap is appreciable.
His playing style actually suits Arsenal’s style of play, who like to keep possession of the ball and create attacks from the back. Ntep is a patient and thinking midfielder just like Arsene Wenger likes. At 180 cm, he doesn’t have the best of height but we have seen the likes of N’Golo Kanté and Sadio Mane flourishing in Premier League in recent seasons and he could well become a great player.
His major weakness is however his defensive contribution. Ntep is young and the exuberance in players of his age means they tend to forget about their defensive duties, something the lad has to work on.
What is difficult here are his chances in the first team. Arsenal have more than enough attacking players in Mesut Ozil, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Jeff Rene-Adelaide, Aaron Ramsey and more coming up the ranks who have impressed in the cup games. Arsenal still have Joel Campbell returning who is on loan at Sporting CP and even he has impressed on his recent national call up.
Wenger likes a player who can play in more than one position and Ntep definitely has the versatility to fit in when called upon. Under someone like Wenger, he could develop well but the issue of not getting regular game time could be a massive factor.
He is likely to stay on the bench in Arsenal till he adapts to the English football and starts fighting for the first team.
