Mikel Arteta can complete his Arsenal defence by signing Ajax wonderkid Jorrel Hato
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta can complete his defence with the signing of Ajax wonderkid Jorrel Hato.
The Gunners have been following the progress of the 18-year-old over the last year and Fabrizio Romano reports they are ‘pushing‘ to land his signature this summer.
The club believe they are ‘front-runners’ to sign him despite his recent contract extension and in our opinion, he would be a quality addition to the back four.
Hato is a central defender by trade, but he is also capable of playing from left-back. The youngster has made 35 per cent of his senior appearances from the role.
His versatility is obviously a prime reason behind the Gunners’ interest and we believe the teenager has all the attributes to become the mainstay from left-back.
In the current season, Hato has completed 93 per cent of his passes. He has won an impressive 2.1 tackles alongside 5.5 ground and aerial duels per appearance.
The youngster has also made 5.7 ball recoveries on average with 2.4 clearances. He is not necessarily an attack-minded left-back but has plenty of time to develop his skills.
Since the turn of the year, Ben White has been asked to invert from right-back by Arteta. This has brought the best out of the Englishman with seven goal involvements.
Meanwhile, Oleksandr Zinchenko, Jakub Kiwior and Takehiro Tomiyasu have taken turns to start at left-back. None of them have been defensively consistent over a stretch of games.
This has become a problematic position for the Gunners. Hato would be a fantastic solution this summer, but Arsenal may have to pay a premium fee to persuade Ajax to sell.
The Dutch wonderkid recently penned a new contract until June 2028. We won’t be surprised if the Eredivisie outfit demand €50 million or more to part ways with him.
Zinchenko looks a likely candidate to leave this summer, having fallen out-of-favour. Arsenal could also contemplate the sale of Kiwior if they spend big on Hato’s services.
We could see a back four of White, William Saliba, Gabriel Magalhaes and Hato next term.
Jurrien Timber, who has had an injury-affected debut season, should be one to watch out for.
The Dutchman can play anywhere in defence. He will be keen to make amends for lost time.
Stats from Transfermarkt.com & Sofascore.com
