Leicester City manager Claude Puel has admitted his interest in PSG’s Hatem Ben Arfa as the Foxes eye an audacious move for the former Newcastle winger.
The highly talented attacker worked with Claude Puel at Nice in the 2015-16 season, where he scored an impressive 17 goals and eventually earned a move to Paris. However, the French midfielder has been terribly singled out following the acquisitions of Julian Draxler, Neymar and last but not the least, Kylian Mbappe.
In fact, the former Newcastle player is yet to feature in a single game this season and has been largely restricted to the sidelines despite being fully fit. With his contract set to expire at the end of this season, PSG would be willing to cash in on their attacking talent this January, and therefore, a move back to the Premier League might be on the horizon for Ben Arfa.
The 30-year-old has spent more than four years playing in England, during which he has scored 13 goals and provided 13 assists in 84 Premier League appearances. Due to lack of form and consistency, the winger was released by Newcastle and was eventually snapped up by Claude Puel’s Nice, where his career was completely revitalized.
While Hatem Ben Arfa may not possess the same talent as he had a few years ago, the 30-year-old could still be a huge signing for the Foxes. Considering the fact that Leicester boss Puel evidently knows how to utilize the talents of Hatem Ben Arfa, the Frenchman could actually prove to be a success in the Premier League.
Leicester City are in disappointing form this season, to say the least. The Foxes have performed way below expectations and it is up to Puel to reconstruct their season for the remainder of the campaign. However, since his arrival, the French tactician has tried to keep his new team on the winning way and has been somewhat successful in his mission.
The lack of creativity has been one of the key reason behind Leicester City’s demise this season, with Riyad Mahrez and Marc Albrighton, not being in the best of forms, of late. The possible addition of Hatem Ben Arfa will certainly strengthen their attacking depth as well as offer more creativity in the final third.
Even though Ben Arfa is slowly approaching the final phase of his career, the French attacker has the talent and the exposure in order to evolve as a key component in Leicester City’s attacking system. It will be interesting to see how Hatem Ben Arfa’s transfer saga develops in January.
