Footie Central | Football Blog Blogging the football world
Arsenal have been linked with a summer move for Ivory Cost midfielder, Odilon Kossounou, who is currently playing for the Belgian champions Club Brugge.
The 20-year-old is regarded as one of the rising stars of African football.
They will face competition though – his progress is being tracked by Inter Milan, although they currently have some financial problems with their Chinese owners. Several clubs in Spain are also interested in him as well.
Nevertheless, a move to the Premier League is an attractive proposition for Kossounou, who is likely to cost around £8.5 million, plus assorted add-ons and bonuses.
He began his career in his home country with Asec Mimosas before moving to Europe with the Swedish side Hammarby. Club Brugge acquired him from them.
Mikel Arteta has made strengthening his midfield one of his priorities when the transfer window opens again, with both Dani Ceballos and Martin Ødegaard set to finish their loan spells from Real Madrid.
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.