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Arsenal are considering exercising their option to buy back 21-year old midfielder Ismael Bennacer from Serie A side Empoli.
The Algerian international joined Arsenal from French side Arles in 2015 and made one senior appearance for the club, a 3 – 0 League Cup defeat away at Sheffield Wednesday.
He was then sent back to France on loan with Tours, before departing for Italy, where he helped Empoli win promotion in his first season with them. The club have been battling to avoid relegation straight back to Serie B this campaign but, despite this, he has impressed, playing 30 times, and providing four assists.
With a number of clubs interested in signing him, including Napoli as reported by The Daily Mirror, Arsenal are considering trying to forestall them by exercising their option to buy the player back again included as part of the contract when they sold him.
He is likely to be included in the Algerian squad for the finals of the African Cup of Nations which begins in Egypt this June.
Andy is an exiled English football fan living in Cyprus. He loves all sports but football is his abiding passion, and he still has dreams every now and then about scoring the winning goal in a Wembley Cup Final, even though his playing days are long gone. He follows most major leagues, across Europe at least, and has a favoured team in each. When he’s not watching, listening, reading or downloading podcasts about football, he spend his time worrying about his beloved Arsenal.