Christian Kofane seems to have made quite the impression on Arsenal.
The Bayer Leverkusen star produced a brilliant performance against the Gunners in the first leg of the Champions League round of 16 clash.
Kofane dominated William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes, which isn’t something many strikers can proudly say about themselves.
Perhaps for that reason, Arsenal are interested in signing the teenager, and his agent has confirmed talks with the North Londoners.
SIGN or REJECT: Were you impressed by Christian Kofane’s performance vs Arsenal?
Agent confirms Arsenal are leading the race to sign Christian Kofane
Kofane has been one of the most impressive young strikers in Europe this season.
The 19-year-old has directly contributed to 15 goals in 17 starts, which is an excellent return for someone of his age.
Reports of Arsenal’s interest in Kofane emerged earlier this week, and they have now been confirmed by the striker’s agent himself.
Eric Depolo told Daily Arsenal: “Yes, Arsenal’s interest is genuine. The manager (Mikel Arteta) likes him very much.
“I think it is too early to say (which club is leading the race), but due to the fact that the player speaks Spanish, like Mikel Arteta, and that William Saliba is originally from Cameroon, I would say Arsenal are in pole position.
“Yes, there is contact between me and Arsenal. But their focus right now is to win the league – from there, everything will start moving. He is a €100 million (£87m) player. With Kofane, Arsenal will have a top striker for the next 10 years.
“I have never had as many calls in my life as now regarding Kofane. Right now, he is the best U21 striker in Europe and the most complete one.
“He has speed, technique, defends very well and is strong in the air. It is very difficult to find all these attributes in one striker.”
Arsenal could sign Christian Kofane for a smaller fee despite agent’s £87m valuation
Depolo has publicly called Kofane a ‘€100 million (£87m) player’, but that price tag is a bit unrealistic for a transfer.
The striker is still only 19, has only played 1745 minutes of senior football at Bayer Leverkusen and still has a lot to learn before he can be among the elite.
Florian Plettenberg revealed on Wednesday that Leverkusen are demanding €60-70 million (£52-61m) for Kofane, which is a much more realistic price tag.
It remains to be seen, however, if Andrea Berta would be willing to pay that figure to sign the talented Cameroonian striker this summer.
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