Arsenal and Bordeaux have been quoted a €15m transfer fee to sign M’Baye Niang, after Torino knocked back Nice’s offer of a loan move.
TuttoMercatoWeb write that Nice followed up their initial interested last month with an offer to loan the player for the season. However, Torino don’t intend to lose the player on a temporary basis, and only want to either keep or sell, so they immediately rejected the proposal.
TMW add that Arsenal and Bordeaux have both made enquiries about the player, and Torino told them they’d have to pay €15m (£13.4m) to sign him. That’s not a particularly large fee for a club in the Premier League nowadays, but for now Arsenal haven’t taken their interest any further.
Niang himself is reportedly keen to leave and take on a new challenge, but wants to be an important part of whichever team he joins.
At Arsenal, it’s hard to say whether that would be the case. The Gunners have a very large squad, but limited wide-forward options, which leads to Aubameyang, Özil, and the rest filling in. Niang could help in that regard, and had a strong World Cup, but only managed seven goal contributions in 31 appearances last season.
Bordeaux seems a more likely destination, particularly with the Ligue 1 side losing Malcom to Barcelona this summer.
We’ll find out Arsenal’s intentions for certain by the Premier League deadline day next Thursday.