According to reports, Arsenal are now the latest club to join the chase of Ligue 1’s highly rated winger Yann Karamoh. London clubs West Ham United and Tottenham Hotspur are also hot on his heels after the 18-year-old had caught attention with his prolific displays for French side SM Caen last season.
And although the French international remains a one season wonder so far; the Gunners are expected to give a stiff competition to their archrivals in securing his services. Despite having brought in Alexandre Lacazette from AS Lyon this summer, Arsene Wenger has found it little difficult to find the two attacking midfield combinations right, just behind the strikers.
With Alexis Sanchez absent till yesterday, Arsenal had mostly employed strikers Danny Welbeck, Theo Walcott and sometimes Lacazette in the playmaking roles. The three-man setup that Wenger introduced at the end of last season has left little window of opportunities for wingers in this setup now. And playing Walcott and Welbeck in the number 10 roles was obviously not going to work out well.
It has turned more to be a three-man attack for Arsenal in the pre-season, and although they managed to get five goals against Benfica, Sanchez’s absence was rightly felt against Sevilla. Wenger needs wingers who could play on the right-back’s role more efficiently which Walcott is hardly expected to do. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is doing that better than Hector Bellerin at the moment and Karamoh is expected to take up that role if he joins the side.
The 18-year-old managed to score nine times for SM Caen last season playing a significant role in saving them from relegation right at the end. The youngster’s terrific pace and close ball control haven’t gone unnoticed by anyone and it is just a matter of time before he is snapped up.
Reportedly, Serie A sides Inter Milan and Fiorentina are also keen on him and have even offered a deal though it is yet to exceed the £3.8 million asking price. Such a talent available at an affordable price is a rare thing and it would be better for him to go on a bigger stage now.
Despite breaking into the fore, his chances of getting a national call-up are almost nil, given the options France have on the flanks at the moment. Karamoh is still a raw talent and a work in progress who would take more quality players around him and a better nurturer to reach the likes of Ousmane Dembele and Kylian Mbappe.
The youth product of SM Caen, Karamoh was taken into the senior side two years back. Though he has been a regular for France’s Under-19 side, the first team remains a distant dream.
