Arsenal are currently hard at work signing the “hugely talented” English striker who recently scored a hat-trick, but they may have to fend off interest from their Premier League rivals.
Gunners set sights on new striker
The Gunners have plenty of striker options after Kai Havertz scored the winning goal against Chelsea on Tuesday night, posing a selection dilemma for Mikel Arteta, but another centre-forward has attracted interest in the January transfer window.
In fact, the north Londoners entered into contract talks with James Wilson near the end of the deadline, but the young Scottish striker ended up signing for Tottenham Hotspur. It was a quiet deadline day at the Emirates Stadium.
Arteta managed to bring in one new forward, with Evan Mooney, who can play centre-forward, right wing and attacking midfield, arriving from St Mirren on a late contract.
However, despite securing Mooney’s contract, Andrea Berta and co remain keen to sign another young forward and are currently hard at work on Middlesbrough striker Cruz Ibe, who is starting to attract serious interest.
Chelsea, Manchester United and Liverpool have also been named as potential suitors for the 17-year-old. Although he has already been handed his Boro debut, he is still playing for the Under-21s and recently scored a hat-trick in a 3-1 win against Ipswich Town Under-21s.
The teenager is said to be a natural finisher and also has speed and power, so Middlesbrough are keen to keep him and the Championship side are confident they can secure his long-term future.
‘Very talented’ Ibe is the man of the future
Havertz scored the winning goal against Chelsea on a night when Arsenal had no pressing need for a new striker and Gabriel Jesus also produced an impressive performance.
But the Boro starlet was praised by manager Kim Helberg after being handed his FA Cup debut at Craven Cottage and could be a player of the future. “He’s a very talented kid. He’s been training with us. He’s got a lot of quality.”
“He’s young, so I wanted him to get a taste of this and learn from it, playing against Premier League centre-backs. He has to grow from it. I want him to go back and use that as energy to train harder, train better.”
Arsenal already have Alvarez, he’s a ‘Berkamp-like player’
Arsenal are interested in signing Julian Alvarez this summer.
Considering his age, the English player is still inexperienced at first-team level, but he has impressed for Middlesbrough’s Under-18s side, contributing five goals in 10 Under-18 Premier League games this season.
Ibe is clearly an exciting prospect and it would be great if Arsenal could win the race for his signature after missing out on Wilson.
