We’re now just over 24 hours away from November, and with the nights drawing in we’re around 60 days from the TRANSFER WINDOW.
Although some football fans profess to hate the speculation and rumours, there’s a part of us all that secretly loves it. Who can’t get on board with the excitement and buzz of imagining that big star or problem-solving signing being pictured with the manager, and the optimism that brings?
And if ever there was a club that are in need of an early 2016 pick-me-up in terms of transfer business it’s Arsenal. Things on the pitch are going well, but so often we’ve seen the wheels come off in north London as the games mount up, and with Petr Cech the only summer addition Arsene Wenger made, there should be cash in place for January, surely?
Forget about the likes of Isco, Gonazlo Higuain or Edinson Cavani though. Here are FIVE rumours that we think could become a reality next year…
Michy Batshuayi
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Reports claim that Wenger has been ‘wowed’ by Marseille’s Belgian attacker, and it’s fairly easy to see why. Batshuayi currently leads the scoring charts in Ligue 1 with eight efforts, putting him ahead of names that dominated the rumour mill over the summer including PSG duo Edinson Cavani and Zlatan Ibrahimovic, as well as Lyon’s Alexandre Lacazette.
Not a bad return at all for a side who, after 11 games, are currently stuck in midtable, and the numbers look even more impressive when you consider that his efforts make up over 50% of l’OM’s overall return.
Unlike other strikers on the market, Batshuayi appears to fit the Wenger mould, with his potential, pace and technical ability the sort of attributes the Frenchman often looks for.
Further to this, can Theo Walcott be expected to stay fully fit for the bulk of the season? Or will Olivier Giroud be able to maintain his goalscoing form across the entire campaign? There are doubts on both fronts.
Sergi Samper
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January may be a bit soon for this one, but Samper, like Batshuayi, seems ideally suited to the ‘Wenger way’.
Dubbed the ‘new Sergio Busquets’, the 20-year-old has long been tipped for a role in the Catalans’ first-team, but even with the club’s transfer embargo in place during the summer months, the youngster still finds himself in the club’s ‘B’ team with little chance of progression as things stand.
Arsenal have already been linked with the playmaker, who, much like Cesc Fabregas, may benefit from a move away from Barca in search of first-team action, and with the clubs’ playing styles not dissimilar, Samper could well thrive, and his creative nature could be ideal with Santi Cazorla not getting any younger.
Leroy Sane
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19-years-old with three goals in Bundesliga action already this term, the buzz around Schalke’s emerging winger is understandable (Arsenal have been linked).
Sane has forced his way into the Gelsenkirchen outfit’s ranks after breaking through last season with a memorable Champions League showing against Real Madrid, and he already looks at home in the German top tier thanks to his straight-line speed and ability to beat his man one-on-one.
Schalke are unlikely to be eager to sell their starlet, making a mid-season move, perhaps, a little unlikely, but by summer 2016 Sane could be ready to move on, with Arsenal a certain step up.
Ruben Neves
Although Liverpool are thought be very, very interested in the Portuguese playmaker, Arsenal should be able to nip in ahead of the Reds should they see fit.
And see fit the really should, with the 18-year-old already a key man at Porto and the youngest player EVER to captain a team in Champions League action – a feat he achieved last week against Maccabi Tel Aviv.
With composure beyond his years and a range of passing that would not be out of place in the Gunners’ engine room, Neves is long-term solution to a potential problem at the Emirates Stadium with Cazorla now entering the twilight years of his career.
The only issue may be the teenager’s lack of pace, which may be highlighted in the Premier League.
Aleksandr Kokorin
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By now Arsenal fans must be aware that the likes of Gonzalo Higuain and Edinson Cavani are names they’re very unlikely to see in the red and white shirt.
But, Wenger does still need a striker, and Kokorin is, like it or not, a player consistently being linked with a move across from Dynamo Moscow to north London.
Although not a ‘headline-grabber’ of a signing, the Russia international has averaged close to a goal every other game since re-joining his current side in 2013 following a month with Anzhi Makhachkala – his spell in Dagestan was cut short as the club sold a host of big names amid financial issues.