Arsenal: Jack Wilshere for £9 million to Sampdoria is unbelievable

With Sampdoria in the chase for Jack Wilshere and his contract slowly winding down with less than twelve months left, the question remains. Will this be the end of the line for the once promising youngster or can Wilshere revitalize the dying embers of his career at Arsenal??

From the day it happened, Arsenal fans have all heard, watched or told the story themselves a million times. It was the February of 2011, a Champions League round of 16 1st leg game against arguably the best team in world and Arsenal for the first time in modern day football beat Barcelona.

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But while the match itself was a brilliant display of football, it was the performances of a 19-year-old teenager named Jack Wilshere that shook Arsenal fans and gave them hope for the future.

It gave them hope in Arsene Wenger‘s plan to bring in young players and build a solid title-challenging team from the midst of financial fair play and new stadium debt. However, fate had other ideas and like the careers of Abou Diaby, Tomas Rosicky and one horrible leg break later for Eduardo da Silva, it stagnated and plateaued out for Jack Wilshere.

There were always signs of brilliance every time the Englishman and a ball met on a football field but fate’s a fickle woman and injuries, a fragile ankle and a catalog of other concerns stinted any development. However, after being cut by Big Sam from the England squad for someone more reliable and dependable, Wilshere left the club he called home for Bournemouth on a season long loan spell.

It seemed at the time that Arsene Wenger hoped and believed that the 25-year-old could possibly architect a chance at the return of The Jack Wilshere, future of English football.

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Now Wilshere has been left out of the pre-season tour to recover from a leg break that ended his loan spell early. However, things do look bright and shiny for the newly-wed midfielder as he’s being chased by the newly-promoted Premier League side Huddersfield and Serie A side Sampdoria who finished 10^th in the league last season The latter have, according to the Mirror, been offered the central midfielder for a mere £9 million.

In no way whatsoever is Jack Wilshere only worth £9 million. And while I admit that there is some bias here, given that I have always been a big fan of the 25-year-old, that valuation simply makes no sense especially given oodles of talent that lie inside that injury-torn body.

While that valuation is based on the fact that Wilshere is in the final 12 months of his contract, it’s simply ridiculous when considering that West Ham were willing to dish out nearly £30 million less than three months ago.

On another note and not that there is anything wrong with Sampdoria, or Italian football for that matter, but it’s simply surprising that no other English clubs want that 25-year-old midfielder. I mean, he’s a born and bred Englishman, he’s homegrown, he’s spent three years before his 21st birthday in England playing football, and thus should be valuable to any Premiership team, right?

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However, with less than a year left on his contract, it’s as the great Gilberto Silva said “It’s up to him. His career has been up and down at Arsenal. He has got talent, that is for sure, but it is up to him.”