‘Arteta likes him very much’ – Agent confirms Arsenal talks for record-breaking signing | OneFootball

The agent of Bayer Leverkusen striker Christian Kofane has confirmed that he has had transfer talks with Arsenal and that Mikel Arteta “likes” his client “very much”.

The Gunners lost the Carabao Cup final to Manchester City before the international break but they are still having a great season in the Premier League and other competitions.

Arsenal are currently nine points clear of Pep Guardiola’s second-placed side in the Premier League and into the quarter-finals of the FA Cup and Champions League.

After spending over £250m on new players last summer, Arsenal are now preparing for more signings in the upcoming window as they look to continue to build on this season’s success.

Summer signing Viktor Gyokeres, who joined from Sporting CP in a deal worth £63.5m, has scored 16 goals in all competitions, but some critics think he should be scoring more goals and offer more to Arteta’s side.

And now Arsenal are looking to sign a new striker in the summer and recent reports indicate that Bayer Leverkusen’s Kofane has emerged as a top target.

The 19-year-old has contributed seven goals and five assists in all competitions, although a majority of his 38 appearances have come from the bench.

Sky Germany reporter Florian Plettenberg claimed earlier this week that Arsenal are in the race to sign the Cameroon international, who scored twice at the Africa Cup of Nations earlier this season.

Plettenberg wrote on X: ‘Arsenal are monitoring Christian #Kofane. The 19 y/o talented striker impressed in the Champions League quarter-finals. Several other top English clubs are also interested, and Real Madrid have been keeping an eye on him as well.

‘Bayer 04 Leverkusen are demanding €60-70 million for a summer transfer. Top transfer by Rolfes/Falkenberg. Both are in good contact with agent Eric Depolo.’

And now Kofane’s agent, Eric Depolo, has confirmed interest from Arsenal in his client and insisted that Arteta “likes him very much”.

Depolo told Daily Arsenal in response to the rumours: “Yes, Arsenal’s interest is genuine.

“The manager [Mikel Arteta] likes him very much.”

Speaking about other interested clubs, Depolo added: “Chelsea, Newcastle, Everton, Brentford, Barcelona and Bayern Munich.”

When asked if any club is leading the race, he replied: “I think it is too early to say, but due to the fact that the player speaks Spanish, like Mikel Arteta, and that William Saliba is originally from Cameroon, I would say Arsenal are in pole position.”

On talks with Arsenal, he said: “Yes, there is contact between me and Arsenal. But their focus right now is to win the league — from there everything will start moving.”

Confirming Kofane’s asking price, Depolo continued: “He is a €100 million player. With Kofane, Arsenal will have a top striker for the next 10 years.”

If Arsenal bought Kofane from Leverkusen for anything like €100m (£87m) he would become the most expensive teenager in Premier League history with Leny Yoro currently holding that honour after Manchester United spent €70m (£61m) on him.