Arsenal have agreed a deal to let Mohamed Elneny leave the club on a free transfer in January, as per a report from Turkish publication FotoMac.
The Egyptian who joined the Gunners in 2016, has always been more of a back-up option for the club. This lack of game time has even led to him spending a season on loan at Besiktas during the 2019/20 season.
According to FotoMac, the north Londoners’ technical director Edu has agreed to let the central midfielder go on a free transfer. The Galatasaray have been interested in Elneny for some months now and have finally been able to strike a deal.
The report states that the reason for letting the midfielder go on a free is because his current deal is set to end next June. It further claims that the 29-year-old was expected to join Turkish giants in the summer anyway.
Arsenal Fever View:
Since it appears that the Gunners have not been able to agree a new deal with the Egypt international, it makes sense to let him go. But it is a little surprising that they have not even asked a nominal fee for their player.
What this does is leave the north Londoners a little light in central midfield. As it stands, Thomas Partey and Elneny are scheduled to leave for AFCON in January, leaving a gaping hole in this position.
Perhaps this deal will lead to the Gunners looking to bring in some cover for the central midfield area. Though the team is not playing any European football this season, they are still in contention for other competitions. And that requires a certain amount of rotation to happen, which would make use of the full squad.
Arsenal need to be prepared so that the departure of Elneny will not affect the team too much. It would be beneficial if someone is brought in to replace the outgoing midfielder. As the 29-year-old enters the next chapter of his career, the Emirates side would do well to look at other players.
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