Report: Arsenal give green light for £10m deal, but midfielder refuses to leave
By Abigail Withey
Arsenal midfielder Mohamed Elneny has turned down the chance to leave the Emirates this summer despite getting the go ahead from Arsene Wenger, according to a recent report.
The Sun reports that Leicester City made a £10 million bid for the midfielder which the Gunners accepted, but the 25-year-old rejected the chance to move.
The newspaper reports on their website that Wenger even allowed the 55-capped Egypt international to speak to Foxes manager Craig Shakespeare about a move after accepting the eight figure bid.
It is said that the Gunners midfielder rejected a to move to the King Power stadium because he loves life in north London.
The Sun claims that Wenger is willing to let the midfielder go as he has a number of options in midfielder including Fracis Coquelin, Aaron Ramsey, Granit Xhaka and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.
Elneny moved from Switzerland outfit FC Basel in January 2016 for around £11 million, and has since made a total of 40 appearances where he scored once and provided three assists throughout all competitions.
On Wednesday Elneny stepped in for Per Mertesacker in Arsenal’s starting XI to face Bayern Munich when the captain was struck with illness.
The game finished with Arsenal winning 3-2 on penalties despite the 25-year-old being denied a goal.
Football Insider verdict
Elneny would undoubtably get more of a regular spot in Leicester City’s team, but it appears that the midfielder is comfortable with his development at the Emirates. Although the Egypt international hasn’t made many starts for the Gunners his contribution is still valued and has featured regularly during the club’s pre-season tour of Australia and China. Although there are a number of midfielders who appear before him in Wenger’s pecking order if Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain makes a departure, which has been speculated recently, it gives the 25-year-old an advantage to move a step closer to the first team. It could have been likely that Wenger was keen to sell the midfielder in order to recoup some of the funds he spent on club record signing Alexandre Lacazette and so he can continue bolstering his squad this summer.
In other Arsenal transfer news, the club agrees terms for midfielder’s move.
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