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Arsenal to target Lille midfielder Boubakary Soumare this January

By William Dodds

LONDON, ENGLAND - DECEMBER 10: Willian da Silva of Chelsea (L) plays against Boubakary Soumare of Lille (R) during the UEFA Champions League group H match between Chelsea FC and Lille OSC at Stamford Bridge on December 10, 2019 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Eurasia Sport Images/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - DECEMBER 10: Willian da Silva of Chelsea (L) plays against Boubakary Soumare of Lille (R) during the UEFA Champions League group H match between Chelsea FC and Lille OSC at Stamford Bridge on December 10, 2019 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Eurasia Sport Images/Getty Images) /
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Arsenal are reportedly interested in signing Lille midfielder Boubakary Soumare, with a number of other clubs also thought to be keen.

According to Dean Jones of Bleacher Report, Arsenal may be one of the clubs enquiring about the Lille player this January. Soumare has already been linked with Real Madrid this window and it is no surprise considering some of the performances he has put in for Christophe Galtier’s side this season.

Currently, Lille sit fourth in Ligue 1 despite the loss of Nicolas Pepe in the summer and while they struggled in a tough Champions League group with Chelsea, Valencia and Ajax, Soumare was still able to impress.

As a player, he would be a perfect target for Arsenal and the type of squad Mikel Arteta will be looking to build. At 20 years old, he is still very young but already has 17 Ligue 1 appearances this season and would add considerable athleticism and technique to the Arsenal midfield.

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He has great security on the ball, with a pass accuracy this season on 89.9%, while he is also averaging 1.2 tackles and 0.9 interceptions per game.

With Lucas Torreira the only naturally suited defensive midfielder in the squad, Soumare can offer back up to him, while also potentially offering an option as an ‘8’ in a three-man midfield too. Like Matteo Gunedouzi and Joe Willock he will be able to contribute immediately, but can also have his minutes managed early on meaning Arteta won’t feel pressurised to break up his current midfield balance to please his January signing.

Finally, as with all transfers the price will be a large determining factor as to whether Arsenal can get the deal done. According to BuzzSport, Lille are demanding £43m for Soumare, but given Arsenal negotiated the sale of Pepe in the summer, this could be a deal for which the relationships and infrastructure have already been laid.

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Much will of course depend on departures, with Arsenal keen to offload Shkodran Mustafi, while the absence of Calum Chambers with an ACL injury means they could also look to target a centre back. One name that has been linked is Soumare’s teammate Gabriel.

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