Johan Bakayoko refuses to rule out PSV exit amid Arsenal interest

Johan Bakayoko has refused to rule out a move away from PSV Eindhoven amid Arsenal’s interest in signing him during the upcoming transfer window.

The Belgium international was on the radar of Burnley and Brentford last summer, but he chose to turn them down to play Champions League football at PSV.

However, he is more likely to leave the Eredivisie giants this time around and Het Belang van Limburg (page 26) claim that Arsenal have already made an approach.

The same source interviewed Bakayoko regarding the interest to which he replied: “The only thing I can say is that next year I will be on a football pitch somewhere.”

Bakayoko would be a good understudy & competitor for Saka

The Gunners have had an over-reliance on Saka on the right wing since he became a mainstay. The Englishman has quite often played through the entire 90 minutes.

He delivered his best-ever return last season with 20 goals and 14 assists, but Arsenal need to handle his workload better in future to avoid injuries and mid-season burnouts.

Leandro Trossard and Gabriel Martinelli shared the minutes on the left wing last term. Martinelli was regularly brought on after the hour mark in the season run-in for Arsenal.

The club did not have the same luxury from the right flank. In our opinion, Bakayoko would be an ideal fit on the back of his impressive 28 goal contributions for PSV last term.

Aside from his goal involvements, he averaged 2.1 key passes per outing with a passing accuracy of 87 per cent. He won almost five duels per outing alongside 2.8 take-ons.

He could leave PSV for around £43 million this summer. With his recent progress and huge potential, he could end up as a bargain signing for the Gunners at that price.

Stats from Transfermarkt.com & Sofascore.com