Arsenal FC are reportedly lining up a A?11 million bid for Napoli left back Faouzi Ghoulam.
.
The 24-year-old defender joined the Italian club in the winter transfer window of 2014 and immediately became a first team regular under manager Rafael Benitez. He went on to win the Coppa Italia with Napoli as he saw a rise in his stature within the team. Ghoulam suffered an Ulna fracture at the start of the last season and missed a lot of games for the club, as he had to undergo a surgery. But he returned strongly and once again established himself in the first team.
Ghoulam has been linked with numerous clubs in the past two seasons. Last summer Manchester United were believed to be considering a move for the left back, before they eventually managed to sign Luke Shaw from Southampton. Chelsea have also kept a keen eye on the Algerian international with the future of the Felipe Luis in doubts at Stamford Bridge. However, according to Eurosports France, it is Arsenal who are lining up a A?11 million bid for the former French U-21 international.
Ghoulam is the second left back who has been linked with the Gunners this season. Earlier Burnley defender Jeff Schlupp was rumoured to have drawn interest from Arsenal. The English club’s interest in signing a new left back is a bit perplexing though.
The London club already have Nacho Monreal and Kieran Gibbs in their squad, who compete for a spot in the team. Monreal improved his performances tremendously last season, and was often preferred over Gibbs by Arsene Wenger. Gibbs’ fitness remains a concern though, but he is still young enough to develop into the player people expected him to be when he broke into the first team. Signing another left back will put question marks over his future at the club. Moreover A?11 million is a considerable fee to spend on a player you really don’t need at the moment; that is unless Arsene Wenger no longer believes that Gibbs can improve and take over from Monreal in the long term.