ARSENE WENGER has confirmed he is in the hunt for Nigerian starlets Kelechi Nwakali and Samuel Chukwueze and is hoping to bring them into the fold at the Emirates subject to work permit.
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| Arsene Wenger has admitted that Arsenal are close to signing these two young Nigerian stars |
But the Arsenal manager has warned fans that will be it in terms of transfer activity as with two days still to go he feels he already has a full squad.
A number of top clubs from across the continent have been chasing Nwakali and Chukwueze after they played starring roles in Nigeria winning the Under-17 World Cup in Chile last year.
But Wenger believes that Arsenal have won the race, even though the brother of the former is already on the books at Manchester City.
Speaking at his press conference, Wenger said: “They are progressing well. I expect them to be done this month.
“There are, of course, work permit issues, medical issues, but it is progressing well. We identified Nwakali after he won player of the tournament, he is a top player. We will see if we can manage to get it over the line.”
However, with the latest injury news from the Emirates the fact that there are hardly any injuries, Wenger believes that will be that for the Gunners this January.
“As I told you just now we have 23 players in training and plus two injured players is 25 and unless people go out we are not on the verge of bringing anybody in,” he said.
“That team news is quite good because we have many players back in full training and who is out is only Jack Wilshere and Santi Cazorla. Danny Welbeck still needs some training but he is back in full training.”
Wenger is expected to field a strong side against Burnley tomorrow with Francis Coquelin making his return and a probable debut for £5m signing Mohamed Elneny.
“Coquelin gives us defensive stability in midfield,” Wenger said. “Before he was injured he had a very good spell in the team. The results were good and his defensive record was very good so he is now in the position where he can compete again for his position.
“And it is a possibility that I have a look at Elneny tomorrow. He is naturally a box-to-box player but is more defensive minded than your usual box-to-box player so he can play in both positions. He has good technique, good vision, quick decision making and is very mobile and agile.”
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