Paris Saint-Germain’s Emmanuel Mbemba is close to joining AS Monaco, according to reports in France, with the Ligue 1 side seemingly beating Arsenal to the signing.
Loiz Tanzi and Hugo Delom report for French outlet L’Equipe that despite being courted by Arsenal and others, Emmanuel Mbemba is now expected to sign for AS Monaco.
The young defender had the option to stay with PSG, but he reportedly turned down their offer of a professional contract a few weeks ago.
L’Equipe add that PSG are struggling to tie down players in Mbemba’s age group, with only one of the six players to be offered a contract actually accepting it.
If Mbemba does join Monaco, it would be bad news for Arsenal, with Nizaar Kinsella recently reporting for the BBC that the Gunners had made an approach to sign 18-year-old defender. At the time, it was said that Mbemba favoured Arsenal over the alternatives.
The teenager is available for a little over £150,000 in training compensation money when his contract expires at the end of this month.
Arsenal’s pitch involved sending Mbemba out on an initial loan move in Europe until January 2027, allowing the Gunners time to secure him a work permit.
Kinsella added that Arsenal view Mbemba as a long-term option at left-back, despite the fact he has also played centre-back with PSG.
Mbemba has been playing in defence for the PSG youth teams this season, representing the u19s in domestic football and the UEFA Youth League.
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