Arsenal have joined three other top European clubs in the race to sign Chelsea left wing-back Kenedy, according to reports.
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TalkSPORT write that Arsenal join PSG, Bayern Munich and RB Leipzig in the race for the Chelsea man. Newcastle are also optimistically hoping they might be able to make the player’s 2017/18 loan deal permanent.
Kenedy mostly played in left-midfield this season, but in the past he’s made most of his appearances at left wing-back or left-back for Chelsea. That could help him fit in at Arsenal, since the club regularly switch between full-backs and wing-backs.
New manager Unai Emery will have the best idea of what system the club plan to use next season. If it’s anything similar, a move for Kenedy would make sense.
As mentioned, the Brazilian was on loan at Newcastle United this season, but only has two years left on his parent club’s contract. In his senior appearances for the two teams this season he scored three goals and assisted four in 19 games.
If Conte (or whichever manager is in charge next season) can’t offer him game time, as the Chelsea boss couldn’t this season, Kenedy might try and force a move away.
Click ‘Next’ for more left-back options reportedly on Sven Mislintat’s shortlist this summer
Faouzi Ghoulam
- Age: 27
- Current club: Napoli
- Contract until: 2022
- Market value: £22.5m
Faouzi Ghoulam is a bit older, and probably a bit more expensive, but he’s an option to come in and immediately replace Monreal in the first team, taking the pressure off Kolašinac.
The media linked the Algerian left-back with Arsenal a lot last year, before the club eventually signed the Bosnian instead.
Then, in February, the Italian media reported that the main reason behind Napoli extending Ghoulam’s contract to 2022 was that they’d heard of interest from Arsenal. They were trying to “avoid any surprises” in the January window.
His new deal has a €35m (£31m) release clause, which still isn’t a crazy amount to pay in today’s market.
When available, Ghoulam has shown a lot of quality, and helped Napoli to 10 wins in 11 matches at the start of the league season. The only thing holding Arsenal back would be his current injury problems, as he’s yet to return from his cruciate ligament rupture in November.
He did make the bench for the final games of the season though.
Ryan Sessegnon
- Age: 18
- Current club: Fulham FC
- Contract until: 2020
- Market value: £22.5m
18-year-old Sessegnon is one of the rising stars of English football. Before even reaching adulthood, he’d already made 81 appearances for Fulham. He’s made one start since as well, assisting a goal in the playoff final to achieve promotion.
He made 52 appearances overall this campaign, scoring 16 goals and providing eight assists.
The youngster can play anywhere along the left-hand side, and has split his time between left-back and left-midfield/wing this season.
That could suit Arsenal perfectly, given their play style involves full-backs getting forward a lot. Hector Bellerin was a right-winger before he joined the club.
According to Goal, Arsenal are “keeping a close eye” on Sessegnon. They aren’t the only ones though. Reports late last year suggested Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester United and Tottenham have all spent time scouting the youngster since his breakthrough.
It wouldn’t be easy to sign the Fulham man, but it could be well worth it if he reaches his potential.
Luke Shaw
- Age: 22
- Current club: Manchester United
- Contract until: 2018
- Market value: £13.5m
Shaw continued to struggle for any sort of consistent game time at Manchester United under Jose Mourinho in 2017/18. He only made 11 Premier League appearances, just seven more than his total for the u23s.
Around the turn of the year, it seemed like things were finally looking up, with four consecutive starts. After that he started three times in 15 matches.
The full-back’s contract expires this summer, although he is reportedly preparing for talks to extend it. Also, United often put in an option to extend their players’ contracts by a year, so they could activate that to buy themselves some time. We saw that with Juan Mata in January, who was in the same situation.
Nonetheless, if negotiations stall, Arsenal could take the opportunity to pounce. They apparently made an enquiry in January, and are monitoring the contract situation.
If the club could unlock the promise Shaw showed when he first broke through with Southampton, he could be a great buy.
Jose Gaya
- Age: 23
- Current club: Valencia CF
- Contract until: 2023
- Market value: £27m
At just 23 years of age, Gaya has already played 146 matches for Valencia’s first team. This season he was once again a regular in the starting eleven, making 34 league appearances as the Spanish side finished comfortably in the top four.
According to earlier reports, Gaya’s release clause would drop to £25.4m this summer, a very decent price for such a young and experienced player. This has now increased to £88m though, since the full-back signed a contract extension with the club.
Unai Emery’s team would need to negotiate well to sign the defender this summer. Manchester United and Chelsea both reportedly joined the club in the race for his signature. The Gunners might have an advantage though, as they’ve dealt with Valencia a lot in the past.
Last summer, Arsenal sold Gabriel Paulista to the Spanish side. They then followed that up with the transfer of Francis Coquelin in January. Before that, Wenger signed Shkodran Mustafi the previous year. Plus, of course, Emery himself used to manage the club.
Perhaps the Spanish u21 international could be the next transfer in the saga, but for now it seems unlikely.
Ryan Bertrand
- Age: 28
- Current club: Southampton
- Contract until: 2021
- Market value: £18m
Bertrand is a bit of a wild card entry on this list, but given Southampton’s struggles it’s not out of the question.
The Saints just barely avoided relegation this season, which probably isn’t what the 28-year-old was planning for the peak of his career.
As an experienced left-back who recently took over the captaincy at Southampton, he’s sure to draw a lot of interest this summer, even though his team did end up staying up.
The Chelsea academy product, who made the PFA team of the year in 2014/15, should have no trouble adapting to whichever team he joins.