Arsenal target’s agent admits he has been in London recently

Add as preferred source on Google

The agent of Ibrahima Bamba has spoken about a recent trip to London amid transfer interest from Premier League leaders Arsenal.

As per O Jogo, Filipe Macedo Alves says he was in the capital but was trying not to give too much else away.

Arsenal want a new central midfielder before the end of the transfer window and it remains to be seen who they will go big for and whether they can get the deal done.

They have been linked with Bamba, who currently plays in Portugal with Vitoria Guimarães, and has been called into an Italy training camp by Roberto Mancini last year.

Bamba agent says he did travel to London

Alves said of the ‘very gifted’ midfielder: “It is true that I was in London, but I am just arriving from Germany, where I was watching Tapsoba’s game.

“Bamba is not the only player I work with. He is a player profile that is clearly of interest to many clubs, but today he is a Vitória player and is only focused on Monday’s game in Chaves.

“The market is open, but I’m not going to feed rumours.”

The interesting thing with Arsenal’s midfield chase is that they seemingly want Declan Rice to come to the club in the summer, making him a top target.

So they would not want to do anything this month which hamstrings a summer pursuit of the England man, in terms of space in the squad or budget.

It is possible that a top talent could come in this month and then Rice in the summer, offering Mikel Arteta an upgrade on Albert Sambi Lokonga and Mo Elneny, but that could be pricey.