Mohamed Elneny is inching closer to his departure from Arsenal, with Marseille weighing up a late move for the Egyptian midfielder.
According to a report by Daily Mirror, Mohamed Elneny is poised to make a move away from Arsenal this summer after falling down the midfield pecking order. The Egyptian midfielder is the subject of interest from Marseille, who are keen on bolstering their squad before the summer transfer window slams shut in France.
Elneny has never quite been able to establish himself as a regular since joining Arsenal from FC Basel in January, 2016. Under Arsene Wenger, he was usually one of the backup options. But, the arrival of Unai Emery has seen him fall further down the pecking order, with the Egyptian now potentially a bit-part player for the rest of the season.
Arsenal signed Lucas Torreira and Matteo Guendouzi as long-term central midfield solutions this summer. The summer arrivals have joined Aaron Ramsey and Granit Xhaka, with the quartet seemingly the way forward in the middle of the park for the Gunners.
In all this, Elneny is likely to find game time hard to come by, even off the bench, unless any injury to one of the aforementioned players hands him a rare chance. And so, it makes sense for the 26-year-old to call it quits at Arsenal, especially with no shortage of suitors in his pursuit.
The biggest club that is looking to swoop Elneny away from Arsenal are Marseille. The Ligue 1 outfit have lost the services of Frank-Andre Zambo Anguissa, who joined Fulham on deadline day in England last week.
The Cameroonian will be a hard man to replace as he was a mainstay as well as a lynchpin in midfield for Marseille. Rudi Garcia now has Luiz Gustavo as the only other holding midfielder at his disposal, making Elneny a viable target, who could provide his best years to the club.
However, Marseille are unlikely to land the Egyptian international on the cheap. Elneny signed a new four-year deal with Arsenal earlier this year, which would have definitely seen his value soar in the current market conditions, despite his stature at Emirates.
While the exact figure has not been quoted, Marseille will likely have to stump up a considerable amount to secure the services of the Arsenal midfielder. It now remains to be seen if Elneny can become the second Egyptian to play for Les Phoceens.
With over two weeks still left for the transfer window to close in France, Marseille do have enough time to negotiate an agreeable figure with Arsenal. One thing seems clear for now though – Elneny’s time at the North London club might have come to an end.
