Exclusive: Arsenal transfer target now more likely than last year to leave for reasonable fee, says expert

Arsenal have been linked with Borussia Monchengladbach midfielder Manu Kone and French football expert Jonathan Johnson has provided his insight into a potential summer transfer for the player.

Although Johnson suggests it’s too early to know specifically about the Gunners’ top targets in that position for now, it might be that this will become clearer a bit later, while he’s aware there has definitely been interest from Premier League clubs and other big sides around Europe for a while now.

Speaking exclusively to CaughtOffside for his latest Daily Briefing column, Johnson also explained that Kone’s departure from Gladbach looks more likely this summer than it did last year.

One reason for that is Gladbach’s poor form, which perhaps means both that Kone will be more keen to try a new experience, while the Bundesliga outfit might also feel it’s worth cashing in on him and trying to revamp other areas of their squad.

This could be good news for Arsenal if they do decide to step up their interest, with Johnson suggesting Kone’s asking price this summer will also likely have gone down since a year ago.

Kone transfer: Arsenal target could be a potential bargain

“Manu Kone is a name coming up again after we saw him linked with Liverpool last summer, and now with Arsenal as they look for a midfielder ahead of the next transfer window. He’s a name that pops up quite often for top European clubs, so it’s not surprising to see him making headlines again,” Johnson said.

“In terms of links with Arsenal specifically, I think it’s early days yet but they’re certainly one of a number of clubs keeping an eye on him. I know there are other clubs in the Premier League who are interested, and some clubs in Ligue 1 who’d be keen to bring him back to France as well.

“Kone is a player of interest and is probably someone who will be on the move this summer. It’s something that’s been discussed now for quite a while as he seems to have outgrown Borussia Monchengladbach, while the club too probably need something of a more far-reaching transitional period than the one that we’ve already seen. So I don’t think it’s impossible that they’ll look to cash in on Kone and rebuild so they can become more than just a mid-table team as they are at the moment, and look to get back more towards the European places.

“It’s not the first time Kone has been on the radar of several top clubs, but I’d say it’s more likely he’ll move this summer than in previous years. It also seems likely that the under-performance of Gladbach this year probably also means Kone’s asking price won’t be quite as daunting as it has been in the past to the teams who’ve looked at him before. He could now be seen more as representing good value for money.”