NEW Arsenal boss Unai Emery has made his first move in the transfer market, with the imminent capture of Yacine Adli from PSG.
The midfielder is set to sign a three-year contract with the Gunners and link up once again with the Spanish coach who he worked with at the Parc des Princes.
But who is the 17-year-old midfielder? We asked our friends at Football Whispers to profile the youngster.
Adli is the latest in a long line of prodigious talent developed by the Ligue 1 champions.
However, the club have a reputation of buying ready-made superstars instead of giving its own an opportunity to shine.
Kingsley Coman left on a free in 2014 and joined Juventus, Dan-Axel Zagdou signed with Borussia Dortmund last year.
Boubakary Soumaré left for Lille. And Claudio Gomes is set join Manchester City next month.
Yet losing Adli could be the biggest blow.
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PSG were desperate to keep him at the club and even promoted him to train with the first-team alongside the likes of Neymar, Edinson Cavani and Kylian Mbappe.
But Adli’s mind was made up and Arsenal beat off competition from Pep Guardiola’s City and Barcelona to sign the young midfielder.
He made just one first team appearance for PSG, coming off the bench against Caen on the final day of the season.
“It’s payback for the work I do daily. These are nice distinctions but I can’t stop here,” Adli said in an interview with Goal.com.
“There’s a lot of work to do and I have to look higher. My first goal is to progress and to adapt little by little to the top level.
“I think I’ve become more mature, largely thanks to my integration into the adult game with the reserves, certain training sessions with the professionals.”
“I’ve also improved technically, tactically thanks to (coach) David Hernandez, who I’ve watched a lot of videos with, which has really helped me.
“But I think there are still some aspects I can improve.
“I’m aiming higher, so I’m full of things that can make me better.”
Adli’s move to Arsenal at the age of 17 years old mirrors that of Nicolas Anelka, who left the Parisian giants for North London 21 years ago.
On that occasion Gunners supporters got to see a young, inexperienced striker turn into a superstar.
They will be hoping the same for Adli and the added bonus is that Emery is already well aware of his potential.
However, it’s believed Arsenal’s head of recruitment, Sven Mislintat, had his eye on the player for quite some time, even before he came to the Gunners from Bundesliga giants Borussia Dortmund.
Mislintat began his role under former boss Arsene Wenger towards the end of last year and made it one of his main priorities to land Adli.
A French youth international at under-16, under-17 and under-18 level, Adli can play through the middle as an attacking midfielder or out on the right. He has 13 goals in 33 caps at youth level for his country.
At 5ft 10ins he’s tall for a player who is tricky with the ball at his feet. And he’s powerful as well, so he can boss games fairly easily running at defenders.
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This season in his seven UEFA Youth League appearances for PSG’s Under-19s, Adli averaged 43.25 passes per 90, completing 83 per cent. Showing his all-round ability, he completed two dribbles per 90 while making 2.9 interceptions.
Adli is calm, composed and boasts excellent passing skills, with the vision to create goals with ease.
This will no doubt have Gunners fans licking their lips at what Emery could turn the 17-year-old in to, and with added experience around him they could have some player on their hands.
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