Forget Yan Diomande For £86m

Arsenal have been linked to signing RB Leipzig winger Yan Diomande for a fee of £86m during the transfer window. 

Diomande is an excellent talent. The 19-year-old has stamped his authority on the Bundesliga at such a young age, and not only that, but he’s also impressed on an international level, as he has scored for Ivory Coast at AFCON.

Recent transfer reports have linked Arsenal to the 19-year-old, as it is understood, the Gunners, alongside Tottenham and Man United, want to sign Diomande from RB Leipzig. However, the German club don’t want to sell him in January, so the Gunners could be forced to pay up to £86m to land him.

However good Diomande is, £86m for a fairly unproven 19-year-old is a lot of money, they should consider alternative targets for much less money instead.

Arsenal should sign Ernest Poku instead

Because of Diomande’s immensely high asking price, GoonerNews decided to help out Arsenal’s scouting department by putting Diomande into Data MB‘s Player Comparison Tool.

The tool analyses a player’s statistics and then identifies players whose stats match them, or even better them, and we have found a fellow Bundesliga youngster, who could be just as good as Diomande, but MUCH cheaper.

Bayer Leverkusen winger Ernest Poku is who Arsenal should be looking at instead, with the 21-year-old showing incredible form this season in the Bundesliga. He has made 22 appearances for Leverkusen since the summer, scoring four goals, and providing four assists.

The player comparison tool shows that Poku has better assist stats, and that his dribbling metrics match up very close to those of Diomande. He is still just 21, and also has a much cheaper market value of just £17m. Arsenal should consider the Dutch winger, as a much cheaper alternative to Diomande either in January or in the summer.

Why Poku could be such a bargain signing

The 21-year-old still has a lot of developing yet to do in his career as he is still so young. But he has a lot of experience in Europe from his time at AZ Alkmaar in Holland. Furthermore, he has international experience, as he has played for the Netherlands’ U21s, U19s, U18s and U16s.

They value him very highly at Leverkusen, which is shown by the German club’s Sporting Director Simon Rolfes. He was quoted in Get German Football News: “He is an excellent wing player who will add a special touch to our attack with his speed and dribbling ability.

“He is tricky and assertive, and with his pace and dynamism, Ernest expands our footballing options enormously.”

He is also no stranger to English football, as his brother Kwame Poku is a star player for Peterborough United in League One.

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