Arsenal legend Martin Keown believes the Gunners are unlikely to break their transfer record to sign Ousmane Dembele before Thursday’s deadline.
According to a report by Daily Star, Arsenal legend Martin Keown has suggested that it’s very unlikely that the Gunners will shatter their transfer record in order to sign Ousmane Dembele this summer. The Frenchman sparked rumours of a potential transfer to Emirates after he was pictured together with many of the Arsenal stars last week.
However, Keown has insisted that Arsenal have already broken their transfer record earlier this year by signing Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and breaking it once again is a far-fetched prospect for the Gunners at the moment. The former English defender also admitted that he has high hopes for Aubameyang, who could potentially tear up Premier League defences next season.
But, it is ‘Auba’ himself, who shares a close relationship with Dembele. In fact, he played an integral role when Borussia Dortmund signed the young Frenchman back in 2016. And it is believed that the Gabonese international is keen on forming a reunion with ‘Dembouz’ at Arsenal next season.
Dembele initially moved to FC Barcelona last summer for a whopping fee of €115 million. He was coming on the back of an excellent debut season with Dortmund that saw him score 10 goals and provide 22 assists in 50 matches all competition. But, the Frenchman suffered a dangerous injury just weeks after moving to Catalonia that kept him out for almost four months.
And soon after returning to full fitness, he suffered a muscle injury that sidelined for about a month. He never managed to find his old rhythm afterwards, scoring just three goals in 17 league outings, which certainly left Ernesto Valverde frustrated.
As a result, the Spaniard has signed the highly talented Malcom this summer. The Brazilian whizkid comes with a cunning reputation, which, coupled with Coutinho’s fiery form in the 2018 FIFA World Cup is enough to raise doubts over Dembele’s regular involvement in the Barcelona first team next season.
As for Arsenal, they are in dire need of a quality winger this summer following the departure of Alexis Sanchez earlier this year. Although the Gunners still boasts the likes of Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Mesut Ozil in the final third, Dembele’s raw pace and trickery could have complemented well with the creativity of the aforementioned duo. Thus, the Frenchman is indeed a viable target for the North London giants.
While Keown has already given us his insight regarding the transfer saga, it’s probably better to wait and see what transpires in the next few days as clubs look to sort their final teams out before the transfer window slams shut on Thursday afternoon.
