‘He plays exactly like Yaya Toure in His prime’: Arsenal reportedly scouting title-winning 20-year-old midfielder compared to Yaya Toure; £18m price tag
Arsenal have reportedly set their sights on Red Bull Salzburg midfielder Lucas Gourna-Douath.
This is according to 90Min, who have claimed that the Gunners recently sent scouts out to watch the 20-year-old in action
The outlet reported that Arsenal sent scouts to watch Gourna-Douath and two of his teammates in action against Tirol last weekend.
As well as the Gunners, rivals Tottenham Hotspur apparently had representatives present at Salzburg’s 2-0 win on the road.
Gourna-Douath, who joined in 2022 for an Austrian-record €15million (£13million) from Saint-Etienne, played the full 90 minutes.
Arsenal could do with bolstering their midfield ranks in January amid Thomas Partey’s fitness issues and Kai Havertz still finding his feet at the Emirates Stadium.
Arsenal target Lucas Gourna-Douath factfile
Gourna-Douath is a decent shout for the Gunners. Although he’s just 20 years of age, he already has over 110 competitive senior appearances at club level.
In terms of his style of play, Jacek Kulig of Football Talent Scout wrote an in-depth scouting report about him in 2020.
The scouting outlet said Gourna-Douath is a powerful, skillful and creative box-to-box midfielder who’s best suited to playing in a 4-3-3 formation.
Kulig also compared the youngster’s style of play to that of Yaya Toure.
Finally, he rated his potential as 9 out of 10, saying he has what it takes to potentially become a key player at a top club.
In terms of price tag, Calciomercato relayed a report this summer claiming Gourna-Douath is valued at above €20million, or around £18million.
All in all, the 2022-23 Austrian Bundesliga champions looks like he has what it takes to do well at Arsenal.
