Pain in the Arsenal
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Lorenzo Insigne would be Slick Arsenal Transfer

By Josh Sippie

Nazionale Calcio - Flickr Media Commons
Nazionale Calcio - Flickr Media Commons /
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Last summer, reports emerged that Arsenal were interested in Napoli’s little winger, Lorenzo Insigne. The speedy flanker was a top prospect in Italy but at 23 years of age, was not factoring into the Italian’s first team plans as much as he had hoped. However, team president Aurelio De Laurentiis  clearly had a much higher opinion of his man that Arsenal’s 20 million pound bet.

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“Arsenal offers 20 million for Insigne? This makes me laugh. I want to make Insigne rise to a value of 60-70 million,” he said, as reported by the Daily Mail. Napoli’s president has made similar statements about Gonzalo Higuain, but it appears that Lorenzo Insigne may be getting a bit itchy in his toes to high-tail it out of Napoli while the getting is good. The Italian side has missed out on Champion’s League football and face an uphill battle to retain their stars.

Insigne’s agent, Antonio Ottaiano has spoken on the subject:

"“His future is not certain. We’re waiting to get a sense of the club’s project and ambitions. Also, and this is fundamental, whether the player is still part of their plans. He feels neglected. It’s a very simple matter, we’ve been saying for months that we’re expecting a meeting with the club to understand what projects they have. Insigne wants to know his future in detail.”"

Without success and promise, Napoli are spiraling a bit and Lorenzo Insigne could follow suit. This kind of ‘rescue me’ situation has always appealed to Arsene Wenger and he may re-launch the 20 million campaign he did last summer, although probably more like 15 million given that he is a year older and a year farther removed from success and first-team experience.

Lorenzo Insigne is an interesting option from Arsenal’s standpoint. He would not be a bonafide first team guy, with far too many options at the Gunner’s disposal, but he could become a very useful tool. His kind of speed is always useful and he is very good at retaining possession. His passes and crosses netted him six assists in a year that he did not see that much of the pitch. 

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With enough time, he could work his way into the starting XI, however, and even if he never did, he would provide an excellent rotation option and some always-needed depth. The question remains, however, of price.

Lorenzo Insigne is not worth the 20+ million that Napoli think they can get for him. For a much more reasonable fee of 10-13 million like Transfermakt have him valued at, suddenly Insigne looks like a bargain shoppers dream. It is all a matter of getting the two sides to see eye to eye.

Next: Carl Jenkinson should stay!

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