Arsenal are reportedly considering a move for Everton star Amadou Onana, with Mikel Arteta determined to bring in a new midfielder in January.
The Gunners have enjoyed another fantastic start to the season and currently sit top of the Premier League table, but Arteta is still keen to bolster his squad.
Arsenal brought in Declan Rice in the summer for a club-record fee of £105m and he has already made a big difference to their title prospects.
However, With the futures of Thomas Partey and Jorginho in doubt, Arsenal are looking to bring in a new midfielder.
As previously reported by TEAMtalk, Aston Villa stalwart Douglas Luiz is considered to be the North Londoner’s main target.
Unai Emery is extremely unlikely to sanction the Brazilian’s exit for anything less than £100m, though – which will prove too expensive for Arsenal in January.
As a result, Arteta is scouring the market for viable alternatives to Luiz and it seems that he has identified Onana as a target, but he certainly won’t come cheap either.
Arsenal tracking Everton star Amadou Onana
According to The Daily Mail, Arsenal are ‘watching Onana closely’ as they look for alternatives to Luiz.
The talented 22-year-old joined Everton for £33.5m at the start of the 2022/23 season and has established himself as one of Everton’s most important players.
Onana has made 51 appearances to date for the Toffees, scoring three goals and making three assists in the process. He is in good form this season and scored in Everton’s 2-0 win over Burnley on Saturday.
The Belgium international is touted to have huge potential and it’s no secret that he wants to become one of the world’s best players one day.
When asked about his desire to score more goals in a recent interview, Onana said: “That’s something I definitely have to do. I think that’s the missing part for me to become one of the best midfielders in the world.”
Along with Arsenal, plenty of other top clubs have registered an interest in the 6ft3 centre-mid, with Barcelona being linked recently.
As mentioned, though, Everton certainly won’t let one of their most promising youngsters leave on the cheap, especially mid-season.
Previous reports suggest that the Toffees value Onana at approximately £60m, but would likely demand more for a January sale.
Arsenal would have to sell players before making an offer of that size for the Belgian, but this is certainly a story for Gunners fans to keep an eye on over the next few weeks.