Arsenal are reportedly interested in signing RC Lens midfielder Cheick Doucoure in the summer transfer window.
The north Londoners are keen to bolster their options in the centre of the park, football.london understands, with Leicester City star Youri Tielemans one name on the club's shortlist. Now, The Mirror have reported that a host of Premier League sides are keen on Mali international Doucoure, including the Gunners.
Brighton, Crystal Palace and Everton are all said to also be monitoring the youngster's future following a stellar season in Ligue 1 as he registered an impressive 6.26 progressive passes and 5.71 passes into the final third per 90 minutes, as per fbref. Fellow Lens midfielder Seko Fofana has previously given a glowing verdict of his young teammate, describing the talented maestro as 'complete', the type of midfielder Arsenal currently needs.
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“Cheick knows how to do everything on the pitch", Fofana said when describing the 22-year-old. "He works in the shadows and, for me, he is very important.
"He is incredibly complete. He’s one of the best players I’ve played with. He knows how to shoot from distance, how to pass, break the lines, dribble and defend.”
Goal have previously claimed that the Gunners see Doucoure as a similar profile to first-choice no.6 Thomas Partey and considering the Ghanaian's injury problems, a summer move for the Ligue 1 starlet certainly makes a lot of sense. Josh Kroenke has consistently echoed the need to sign young players with high potential and Doucoure certainly fits those requirements.
Writing in the matchday programme before the 5-1 win against Everton last weekend, Kroenke said: "On a recruitment standpoint I will always defer to Edu and Mikel but I know they have a blueprint of the type of player and specific positions that we need to reinforce heading into the summer, so I’ll defer to them and support them in every way that we can in their pursuit of elevating the quality of the squad and also ensuring that we have the right mentality of player coming in.
"We only want players who are passionate about Arsenal Football Club. Players arrive from other clubs but are also elevated from our junior ranks, as is very obvious at Arsenal with Bukayo (Saka), Emile (Smith Rowe), and Eddie (Nketiah) making such huge contributions this season.
"The academy has been a really bright spot that receives great focus at our club."
