Arsenal have had previous success in signing young, talented forwards from leagues where many teams may not be considered at the elite level, with Gabriel Martinelli joining the Gunners from Itauno in the Brazilian Serie B in 2019. Yet, Martinelli is now one of Mikel Arteta's most important players as the Gunners eye a Premier League title charge this season.
Many other players in north London have also seen great development at Arsenal, with Bukayo Saka and William Saliba also contributing to the extremely young squad at Arteta's disposal.
While Borussia Dortmund have shown numerous times in the past that they are one of the best clubs at developing young talent. Arsenal are certainly not far off, and one of their attacking targets may be convinced that he would get more minutes there as opposed to other Premier League clubs looking for his signature.
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Red Bull Salzburg Noah Okafor has emerged as a top target for Arsenal, Manchester City and Liverpool following impressive displays in the Champions League, which included scoring the goal that prevented Graham Potter from securing victory in his first Chelsea game.
Okafor has ten goals from 22 appearances for Salzburg this season which has seen interest ramp up across the footballing world in acquiring his services as he could be the next gem to emerge from RB Salzburg.
After initially beginning his youth career in his home country of Switzerland with local team FC Arisdorf, Okafor joined one of the top clubs in that country, FC Basel, spending the next eight years as part of their youth set-up. He got promoted to the first team at the start of the 2018/19 season and signed his first professional contract in January 2018.
Okafor made his first-team debut just days before his eighteenth birthday in May 2018 and scored his first goal a few months later. Over the course of three years, Okafor made 39 senior appearances in the Swiss league, with Basel scoring three goals in the process.
On deadline day of the January transfer window, Okafor sealed a move to Salzburg for reportedly just under £10million after the clubs former star striker Erling Haaland joined Borussia Dortmund that same window. In his first six months in Austria, Okafor grabbed three goals and one assist, helping Salzburg win the Austrian Premier League.
Okafor's scoring record getting better has coincided with more concrete interest arriving from top European clubs after scoring six goals in his first full season at Salzburg. He finished the 2021/22 season with 14 goals in all competitions, including three Champions League strikes against Sevilla and Wolfsburg (2), before Bayern Munich knocked them out in the last-16.
And after just 20 competitive appearances this season, he looks set to beat his tally from the previous campaign, assuming he remains in Austria, as he is just four goals away from 14.
A variety of clubs are now starting to take notice of Okafor, with a trio of Premier League heavyweights all eagerly tracking his progress, and that has been given a significant boost after he was called up to Switzerland's World Cup squad.
A possible scouting mission for Liverpool, Manchester City and Arsenal could be a good thing, but if Okafor stars for the Swiss national team, where he has scored two goals in eight appearances after he made his debut in 2019, Salzburg could certainly up the price of £30million that has been placed on him.
While the 22-year-old does not quite boast a similar record to former Salzburg forward Erling Haaland, who scored 17 goals from 16 games, Okafor has impressed on the European stage and could potentially guide his country to a good World Cup campaign with his keen eye for goal.
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