Crystal Palace’s fresh managerial recruit Roy Hodgson is looking to hatch a transfer for Arsenal midfielder Jack Wilshere in January.
As per reports in The Daily Mirror, Roy Hodgson wants to land Jack Wilshere at Selhurst Park as the 70-year old is admittedly an admirer of the English midfielder.
However, after being touted as one of the best young midfielders in Europe a few years back, Wilshere has failed to live up to the billing. Having not been an Arsenal regular for three seasons, the 25-year old was loaned to Bournemouth last season in order to get some game time.
The Arsenal academy graduate, at his best, is undoubtedly a force to reckon with and, while he made decent contributions to Bournemouth’s fantastic 9th place finish in the league last season, he is now back with the Gunners where he is yet to fully impress fans and critics alike.
But when he came in in the 70th minute against FC Köln in Arsenal’s 3-1 Europa league win on Thursday, there were glimpses of the Wilshere who left tongues wagging with his midfield mastery a few years ago. Indeed, he also played a part in Hector Bellerin’s goal that sealed the night for the Gunners.
While Wilshere sent out a message to the Arsenal fans at the start of the season expressing his delight to grace the Emirates pitch again, his former England manager – for whom he started 29 games – is eyeing a January transfer for him.
Wilshere has already entered the final year of his contract with the Gunners and so the club might want to do some business rather than giving him away for nothing at the end of the season.
The former Fulham and Liverpool manager will monitor Wilshere’s performances over the coming weeks and plot a move for him accordingly. However, the transfer only seems to be possible if Wilshere is playing a peripheral role for the team – in which case it will not hurt Arsenal to sell him.
But that is not what Wilshere will be hoping for as he looks to take responsibility and finally make his mark on the big stage.
