Arsene Wenger’s Emirates career is certainly on the line and winning the Europa League to qualify for the Champions League next season is one of the very few things that can save his job. But that has not stopped the club from scouting for transfer target for a move at the end of the season.
Head of recruitment at Arsenal, Sven Mislintat is already busy trying to negotiate deals for players who can improve the squad for the next season and one name he is desperate to land is Caglar Soyuncu.
Having made his first senior appearances in Europe with Altinordu, a Turkish outfit, Soyuncu moved to Germany with Freiburg in 2016 for just £2.4m and took no time to establish himself in the first team at Schwarzwald-Stadion, where he is now one of the first names on the team sheet for Christian Streich.
Standing at 6ft 2in, the 21-year old is a is a confident and athletic defender who loves a challenge. Strong in the air and dominating inside his own area, Soyuncu is quick across the turf, smart with his positioning and is hard to beat, even in one-on-one situations. He is also adept at throwing himself in front of goal and is also comfortable dribbling the ball out of the danger area.
He can pick a pass from the deep and though is a bit prone to giving away fouls, has cemented himself as one of the best defenders in the Bundesliga this season. He has a goal in 25 appearances for Freiburg this season and his performances in a couple of seasons at Germany is now attracting interests from all around Europe.
The Daily Mail claim that the likes of Manchester City, Manchester United, Liverpool, Chelsea and AS Roma are all interested in his services along with Arsenal. But the Gunners are determined to land Soyuncu and are ready to meet his valuation.
He is easily one of the most important players at Freiburg, who will be reluctant to sell so early but reports claim that they have slapped a price tag of £30m, which will denote a huge profit for the German outfit. But is the right man for Arsenal?
The Gunners have struggled with their backline this season with Laurent Koscielny, the mainstay, not shown enough consistency at the back. Shkodran Mustafi has not been impressive enough while Rob Holding is still relatively young. Per Mertesacker is not expected to stay at the club beyond this season, pushing Wenger into the transfer market for another CB.
And at just £30m, Soyuncu is definitely a risk worth taking.
