Arsenal look all set to complete their first signing of the January transfer window with the news reported yesterday that Legia Warsaw’s 17-year-old midfielder Krystian Bielik was set to have a medical with the Gunners earlier today.
Arsene Wenger seems to have beaten off competition from Hamburg for the highly-rated Polish starlet’s signature.
A fee of £2.5 million has been agreed which could yet rise to £3.5 million depending on appearances.
Whilst Arsenal fans will be pleased to see the club have actually managed to complete a transfer this month, Bielik is hardly an established talent.
Gunners fans had been hoping for a title challenge this term and the second half of the season will be all about qualifying for the Champions League once again whilst looking to add another trophy to the cabinet.
In order to achieve those goals, some new players would not go amiss – preferably above the age of 17.
Here we have identified five players who could yet follow Bielik to the Emirates Stadium this January.
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Click on Arsene Wenger to reveal 5 players to follow Krystian Bielik to Arsenal this January.
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Virgil van Dijk
A central defender is the priority this month with Arsenal having been forced to use natural full backs such as Calum Chambers, Nacho Monreal and Mathieu Debuchy as cover in that position this season.
Celtic’s Virgil van Dijk has caught the eye up in Scotland and Arsenal are confident the Dutchman is capable of playing at a higher level.
The SPL champions are demanding £10 million for their prized asset – a fee that Arsenal may try and bargain down before the close of the transfer window.
Winston Reid
Alternatively, West Ham United’s Winston Reid is still a realistic transfer target. The Hammers defender spoke for the first time publicly about his future this week, insisting he has recieved no offers as of yet.
But reports linking him with a move to the Emirates Stadium refuse to go away and given he is in the final six months of his contract at Upton Park, were Arsenal to make an offer before the close of the transfer window it would be hard to see a reason as to why this deal would not go through.
Reid is also eligible to play Champions League football in the second half of the season.
Ilkay Gundogan
The German international playmaker has endured a turbulent couple of seasons with injuries and reports now suggest Borussia Dortmund are ready to cash in given their struggles this term.
Gundogan remains a classy central midfielder and at 24 he has plenty of time on his hands to improve even further.
Some reports have suggested Arsenal will attempt to lure the German to the Emirates Stadium with a double bid of £63 million, with central defender Mats Hummels included, although whether Dortmund would be willing to sell both at the halfway point of the season remains to be seen.
Mattia Perin
Arsene Wenger is facing a dilemma with his current goalkeeping situation given the recent dip in form and off-field antics of Wojciech Szczesny.
Summer signing David Ospina has the number one shirt for the moment but it remains to be seen as to whether he will prove to be the long-term solution.
Reports have continued to link the Gunners with a move for a new goalkeeper, with Italian international Mattia Perin the latest name to be linked.
The 22-year-old is considered one of the most promising young goalkeepers in Europe after a superb couple of seasons with Genoa in Serie A.
Available and affordable, Perin has also been linked with Premier League rivals Liverpool.
William Carvalho
Arsenal fans are still hoping there will be a marquee signing before the close of the transfer window with that midfield enforcer still proving elusive.
Sporting Lisbon’s 22-year-old prospect William Carvalho has been consistently linked with a move to the Emirates Stadium and appears tailor-made for that position in Premier League football.
Sporting have slapped a £30 million price tag on his head but this would be an investment not only for the present but for the long-term future.
Arsenal fans would be delighted to see Wenger pull his finger out and get this deal over the line before deadline day on February 2nd.
