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Arsenal leading the race to sign Salzburg star Noah Okafor

By Ritayan Chatterjee on November 2, 2022

Arsenal have reportedly leapt to the front of the race to sign Red Bull Salzburg forward Noah Okafor, as per the Italian outlet Calciomercato.

The 22-year-old joined the Austrian giants back in 2020 from FC Basel for a fee of around £10m. The youngster has enjoyed a productive start to this new season, scoring nine goals and notching up a solitary assist in 17 games in all competitions.

A previous report claimed that the Switzerland international’s current deal with Salzburg will expire in around 18 months and he does want to extend his contract. So, Matthias Jaissle’s side could cash in on their star man this January and might accept a fee of around £25m, with Leeds United being one of the clubs who are eyeing a move for the Salzburg man.

However, Calciomercato is now reporting that Arsenal have jumped in front of the queue to sign Okafor, while Serie A giants AC Milan are also keen on signing the Swiss.

Okafor to Arsenal

Okafor could be a shrewd signing for Arsenal. Despite being a centre-forward by trait, the youngster can be deployed in either flank. So, he can be an ideal addition to the Gunners squad – if he were to join the Emirates Stadium in January – given they need to strengthen their wide areas.

Mikel Arteta’s side appear to be one of the contenders to challenge for the Premier League title this term and in order to help the Spanish boss in maintaining that charge, the club’s hierarchy need to invest in the squad this January window. Otherwise, they might struggle to maintain their best form in the second half of the season when the fixtures will be more congested. Arsenal may stumble if they are hit with injuries due to their thin squad size.

Meanwhile, as the January transfer window approaches, Arsenal have started to be linked with several players. Previously it was thought the Gunners might go for a new midfielder and a winger in this winter window, having missed out on strengthening those two areas during the summer.

However, Arteta’s side have continuously been linked with centre-backs, left-backs as well as new midfielders and wingers. It is highly unlikely that they would be able to make that many purchases in this January window and therefore, it will be interesting to see how many signings they can afford to make. Adding more firepower to their midfield department and the wings is an absolute necessity and strengthening these two areas could help the Spanish boss’ side in challenging for the title this term.