Arsenal have a host of talent on loan, with one player’s future looking to be far from the Emirates.
The summer transfer window was a time of change for Mikel Arteta’s squad, as several players departed.
First-team trio Emile Smith Rowe, Eddie Nketiah and Aaron Ramsdale bid farewell on a permanent basis, with four fringe players leaving on loan.
While Reiss Nelson and Fabio Vieira are to return to the Emirates after their respective loan spells, it seems to be the end of the road for Albert Sambi Lokonga and Nuno Tavares.
Tavares joined Lazio with an obligation to buy inserted, while Lokonga signed for Sevilla with a £10m option to buy included in his initial loan.
Sevilla’s valuation of Albert Sambi Lokonga is disappointing
Arsenal signed Lokonga back in 2021 from Anderlecht, seeing the midfielder arrive as a highly-rated talent from Belgium.
Despite the ability that the 24-year-old has in his locker, things never worked for Lokonga in Arteta’s system, seeing him make only 39 appearances in all competitions.
Just as it seemed that Lokonga’s ship in English football had sailed, the Belgian starred on loan at Luton Town, impressing in Rob Edwards’ side last season, seeing him earn the headlines.
Still, Edu and Arteta saw no place for the 2021 arrival at the Emirates, leading to him joining Sevilla on loan.
This week, Spanish outlet Estadio Deportivo shared their opinion on the loanee, commenting on the midfielder’s €12m market value.
Lokonga’s pending £10m price tag is believed to be a fair valuation of the player, with the Spanish site reporting ‘no mismatches’ in the value of the 24-year-old, which is rather underwhelming.
Lokonga could have been Arsenal’s Yaya Toure
It’s underwhelming because things could have been far different for Lokonga at Arsenal, with the 24-year-old joining Arteta’s project at a particularly fragile time.
After struggling in his first season in English football, some would say that Lokonga’s journey in North London was over before it began, which is a dire shame.
It was only in 2021 that Vincent Kompany backed the Belgian to be ‘the new Yaya Toure’, as the Bayern Munich manager opened up on the Arsenal outsider’s talent when speaking to Rio Ferdinand, via FIVE.
“The first thing I did when I saw Sambi is I went to Mikel and also Pep, but Mikel first and said, “You got to watch this guy, he’s the new Yaya Toure,” Kompany said, emphasising the quality that Lokonga has.
Nothing has changed, the former Anderlecht is still as talented as he was when he arrived at Arsenal, with the only difference being how he was managed at the Emirates.
Arteta could have got so much more out of the Sevilla loanee, who is now regarded as a player worth just £10m.
Perhaps it was a case of right player, wrong time for Lokonga at Arsenal, with the 24-year-old now on a journey away from Arteta’s project.
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