Arsenal are reportedly facing a fight to retain the services of young defender Kristopher Da Graca with Paris Saint-Germain showing interest in the Swede
The Sun have claimed that Paris Saint-Germain are taking a keen interest in Arsenal’s teenage defensive prospect Kristopher Da Graca. The 18-year-old is highly rated by the coaches at Arsenal but the French champions are looking to prize the player away from London.
Kristopher Da Graca is an 18-year-old Swedish youngster who joined the Arsenal youth squad after making the move from Swedish side Hisingsbacka in 2014. The youngster plays predominantly at the centre of defence but has also shown promise when deployed as a right-back.
Kristopher is eligible to play for two nations – Sweden and Bosnia-Herzegovina, but the youngster seems to have chosen his birthplace, having represented Sweden thus far at both the U-17 and U-19 level.
Graca’s progress at Arsenal was halted by a knee injury, which also seemed to affect his performances after coming back, as he made several mistakes and produced some forgettable performances. The player, though, seems to have found his old form from last season and became a mainstay in the U18 side.
Kristopher Da Graca: Arsenal face transfer tug-of-war with Paris St Germain to keep teen star: ARSENAL will f… https://t.co/hVD47Y6oqx
— Midia Sports (@MidiaSports) October 15, 2016
Despite getting most of his playing time with the U-18s, Kristopher also broke into the reserve squad and managed to record six appearances for Steve Gatting’s side. The player’s recent performances has drawn a lot of praise from the coaches with PSG registering their interest.
Read another Arsenal-related news regarding youngsters here
Kristopher’s contract is up for expiry in the summer of 2017, which means that the youngster would be free to negotiate with a club outside of the Premier League from the advent of January, which is likely to make it more difficult for Arsenal to retain the player.
Arsenal, though, are unlikely to part with the player without a fight, considering they overcame the likes of Tottenham, Chelsea and Aston Villa in order to secure the services of the Swede. The Sun added in their report that the Gunners are wishful of keeping the player beyond his current deal.
Arsenal, though, are fully aware that they would not be able to offer Graca a look-in to the first-team setup at Emirates anytime in the near future, and fear that this may cause Graca to look for first-team football elsewhere.
The towering centre-back is a promising prospect but as it looks, Arsenal are more likely to lose the player than not, with Paris Saint-Germain primed to take advantage of Arsenal’s loss by offering the player a deal to bring him to the French capital.
