On-loan Sassuolo star Hamed Traore celebrates after scoring a goal. (Getty Images)
According to 90min.com (h/t BBC), Arsenal are interested in Ivory Coast siblings Hamed and Amad Traore.
20-year-old Hamed is currently on loan at Italian side Sassuolo from Italy while 17-year-old Amad plies his trade with Atalanta. The two brothers have been earning a lot of rave reviews in Italy recently that has triggered the likes of North London side Arsenal, who are on the lookout for young and exciting forwards ahead of next season.
Meanwhile, it has been a season to forget so far for the Gunners, who are at 9th place right now. Despite the arrival of new boss Mikel Arteta in January, the team has struggled to improve its performances.
The side has lacked creativity up front that has seen them score just 40 goals in 28 league games. The inability to create goal-scoring opportunities have hurt the Gunners badly that has seen their performance dip in the current season.
Summer signing Nicolas Pepe remains their top assist-provider with six assists to his name. Meanwhile, Mesut Ozil has failed to impress so far. The 2014 World Cup winner has managed just two assists this season so far. Hence, Arsenal clearly need some young blood in their attack to add some confidence and energy into their game.
Roping in the Ivorian siblings would thus be a really good choice. Meanwhile, attacking midfielder Hamed has been impressive for Sassuolo this season, scoring four goals and giving one assist from 22 games across all competitions.
His younger brother Amad, on the other hand, has broken into the Atalanta senior side and has scored one goal from his three Serie A appearances. The teenage winger has been a standout performer for the Italian side, scoring six and assisting five times in 16 games in the youth league.
However, roping in the two brothers would not be an easy task for Arsenal, especially in the case of Hamed. He is still halfway through his two-year loan deal with Sassuolo. Also, they have an option to buy him permanently when his contract expires in 2021.
Given his displays in the league this season, it remains to be seen what the future has in store for the young attacker. The winger is considered to be a potential future star but given his age and inexperience, it’s safe to assume it would not be a difficult task for the London-based side to get him.
It would do a world of good if Arsenal manage to sign the young duo as signing them would get them a couple of quality talents to work with for the future. It is clear so far that Arteta is not shy of handing youngsters the opportunity. Given the lack of creativity, the right move would be to add promising youngsters in the team and get them ready at the earliest.
Considering the players’ age, they would make a good future investment for the Gunners. Thus, Arsenal should make the best of this chance and land in the brothers sooner rather than later.
