Morgan Sanson celebrates after scoring for Marseille. (Getty Images)
According to claims from French journalist Alexis Bernard, as cited by The Sun, Arsenal have made an official enquiry about Marseille midfielder Morgan Sanson.
As per the report, Gunners boss Mikel Arteta is keen to beef up his midfield unit heading into the upcoming campaign and has set his sights on Sanson, who could be available for around £36million.
The 25-year-old, who has only one year left to run on his current deal with Marseille, helped Andre-Villas Boas’ side to a second-place finish in the prematurely-terminated 2019-20 French Ligue 1 campaign.
Sanson shot to prominence with Le Mans in Ligue 2 before carving out a reputation for himself at Montpellier in the French top-flight. The 27-year-old made over 100 appearances for Montpellier across three-and-a-half seasons in Ligue 1 before Marseille came calling for his services in January 2017.
The 25-year-old has since evolved into one of the best central midfielders in France. He has registered 23 goals and 19 assists in 138 appearances for Marseille. The former French U-21 international also boasts an impressive track record in the Europa League, having played a key role in the Ligue 1 club’s march to the final of the 2017-18 edition.
Essentially a central midfielder by trade, Sanson is versatile enough to slot into a deeper defensive role and a more attacking No.10 role behind the striker.
Ideally, the Gunners shouldn’t be looking at new signings in the midfield department given that they have already got the likes of Lucas Torreira, Matteo Guendouzi, Granit Xhaka, and Joe Willock vying for places in the middle of the park.
However, Arteta might have to part ways with two specialist central midfielders this summer. Guendouzi is set to be sold for £20million after falling out with the gaffer over his sending-off against Brighton, while Torreira has also been linked with an exit amid interest from AC Milan.
Now, the potential departure of Guendouzi and Torreira would render Arsenal short of quality cover in the midfield. Morgan Sanson seems like a good replacement.
The 25-year-old’s exploits at Marseille in Ligue 1 and also in the Europa League suggest that he’s ready to make the step up to the highly-competitive Premier League.
Morgan Sanson still has his best years ahead of him at 25. A significant outlay for the French midfielder could well be worth it as far as Arsenal’s long-term plans are concerned.
The £36m price tag shouldn’t bother them too much if they raise enough cash from the potential sales of Torreira and Guendouzi.