Arsenal have joined Everton in a bid to secure a move for AC Milan youngster M’Baye Niang. Niang had a brief spell with Watford as he was loaned to the Premier League clubs having failed to shine for Milan. He couldn’t make much from his short outing as he scored on two occasions and made as many assists in 16 appearances for the Hornets.
Arsene Wenger seemingly has a long-term interest in the player and even had the chance in 2012 when the player came to the club for a trial. But he missed out on the player who later went on to join AC Milan.
Niang’s development hasn’t shaped that much as he should have done much better with the opportunities he has gotten so far. The player had also been at various clubs on loan testing his skills in different Leagues including Genoa and Montpellier but has never been able to fully convince.
Watford did have the chance to make his stay a permanent one at the Vicarage Road for a fee of £15.5m but the players himself had turned down the chance to shift to England permanently.
Everton have been chasing the player as Ronald Koeman thinks the player is suitable to his style of play. The ex-France U-21 international can be used on the flanks and can try his hand up front too. Koeman has already sealed the move for Davy Klaassen but is still not convinced totally about his side’s capability. He wants to add a plethora of attackers to turn the Merseyside club into one of the most threatening outfits in the Premier League.
Wenger is understood to have expressed his interest in bringing the player to the Emirates Stadium. Lucas Perez is expected to make his way out of the club after spending an injury-ravaged season having arrived at the club from Deportivo La Coruna. His departure would pave the way for Niang.
Niang has raw potential which can be moulded into shape if Wenger can get things right with him. Rob Holding has been the example of another Wenger success story. The defender arrived from Bolton for an amount of just £2m but his performance graph for the Gunners has been upwards since his introduction to the starting lineup. Wenger opted to start with a three-man defence in the last couple of matches and the youngster has been a rage in the Gunners backline.
Niang has all that qualities to emulate Holding’s success at the Emirates and it remains to be seen how Wenger handles this transfer.
