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Scouting Report on Arsenal Transfer Target Rob Holding
- Updated: July 19, 2016
Arsenal appear to be closing in on their third signing of the summer. Having secured deals for midfielder Granit Xhaka and Japanese forward Takuma Asano, the club look to be on the verge of completing the transfer of Bolton defender Rob Holding.
According to Simon Jones of the Daily Mail, Arsenal have submitted a formal bid and the player has already passed a medical:
Arsenal have had a £2million bid accepted for Bolton Wanderers defender Rob Holding.
The England U21 international underwent a medical on Monday evening and is expected to be confirmed as an Arsenal player once personal terms are finalised.
Arsenal had an initial £1.2million offer rejected, they revised their offer to improve bonus payments but that was also rejected.
It’s not the marquee striker that Arsenal fans were hoping for, however, this still appears to be an astute piece of business. For starters, the defence is an area that needs addressing. Although Arsenal have four first-team centre-halves in Laurent Koscielny, Per Mertesacker, Gabriel Paulista and Calum Chambers, neither Mertesacker nor Gabriel were particularly convincing as Koscielny’s regular partner last season.
Holding is unlikely to come in and immediately challenge for a first-team place. In that respect, he is in a comparable position to that of Chambers. Both are gifted centre-halves who have shone for England at youth level. Both players are also capable of filling in at right-back if required.
Perhaps the purchase of Holding is what will allow Chambers to go out on loan. His development has slowed somewhat in the last 12 months due to a lack of first-team opportunities, but this summer he’s been linked with a temporary move elsewhere in the Premier League. According to Sami Mokbel of the Daily Mail, the Gunners are open to the possibility of letting Chambers ply his trade with another club next term:
Arsenal are prepared to loan Calum Chambers out next season, provided they sign a new centre back.
But Arsene Wenger will not sanction a permanent exit for the former Southampton believing he can still become a key figure for the Gunners.
Chambers could now head out on loan for the 2016/17 season, which would accelerate his progress more …
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