Arsenal have shown an interest in signing RB Leipzig’s Tyler Adams, according to reports.
The United States international’s versatility is said to be particularly appealing to Mikel Arteta, with his ability to play at right back or as a defensive midfielder making him a potentially ideal fit for the inverted full-back system the Gunners boss has used.
The Athletic report that Leipzig are not particularly open to Adams departing, however, with the Bundesliga runners-up losing star centre-backs Ibrahima Konate and Dayot Upamecano to Liverpool and Bayern Munich respectively in deals set to go through in July.
Still, it’s hard to argue that Adams wouldn’t represent an upgrade on Arsenal’s existing main right-back options – Hector Bellerin, Cedric Soares and Callum Chambers – and at 22, he would clearly be a better long-term investment than the other name recently floated in connection with a move to the Emirates, Kieran Trippier.
From Adams’ perspective, though, you’d be minded to say that a move Arsenal would not be an especially enticing proposition at the moment. The Gunners’ eight-placed finish in 2020/21 was their lowest since the pre-Wenger era.
Does Adams want Champions League football or no European football at all? A potential tilt at the title (ok, Leipzig will lose influential head coach Julian Nagelsmann to Bayern next month, but they are an emerging powerhouse in German football and stand to make over £70 million from the sales of Konate and Upamecano) or, in all likelihood, a push for a Europa League spot?
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