Report: Arsenal move for Valentin Antov hits stumbling block

Add as preferred source on Google

Arsenal’s attempts to sign Bulgarian defender Valentin Antov have hit a stumbling block, as highlighted by Fakti Akmu.

The CSKA Sofia centre-back was on the radar of the Gunners but new regulations following Brexit now look to have scuppered the plans.

Clubs in England can now only sign players from other European countries if the international team sits in the top 50 of the FIFA world rankings.

Bulgaria are currently 68th on that list and that means Arsenal can no longer sign the defender directly.

Exceptions can be made if players have minutes in the group stages of the Champions League under their belt – although Antov doesn’t.

The 20-year-old is already captaining his side despite his tender years and has 76 first-team appearances to his name.

Arsenal are blessed with some decent options in defence, with Gabriel signing from Lille during the summer.

Rob Holding is enjoying a decent campaign, whilst David Luiz, Pablo Mari and Shkodran Mustafi remain at the Emirates Stadium.

William Saliba is now on loan at Nice but he remains in Arsenal’s thoughts as one of the future.

Antov could theoretically still be signed by the Gunners but it could get complicated.

He could be signed and then loaned to a club in a country where the national team sits inside the top 50 of world football.

Following the loan, Arsenal could apply for a Governing Body Endorsement (GBE) but there is no guarantee that would be approved.

As a result, it would represent a sizeable risk if Arsenal were to go ahead with the deal.

TBR View – Have the Gunners missed the boat with Antov

It goes without saying that the Bulgarian looks like becoming a future star.

He is highly-rated and with 76 games under his belt by the age of 20, he can quite clearly play a bit.

The 6ft 1in defender has played three times for the national team and is likely to have lots of potential suitors.

Hindsight is a wonderful thing but perhaps Arsenal should have gone for Antov before the Brexit restrictions were put in place.

Only time will tell whether they live to regret not landing the youngster earlier.