FC Basel have finally cleared Arsenal to make the signing of their star Egyptian midfielder Mohamed Elnenny as the Swiss club have now finalised the deal to bring in Elnenny’s replacement Alexander Fransson.
Earlier today Basel posted a picture in their twitter account to make it clear that they have signed Alexander Fransson from IFK Norrköping of Sweden which apparently gives green signal to the Gunners to sign Elnenny.
The highly rated defensive midfielder has already passed a medical test in France and the only thing Arsenal wait for is to get the Egypt international a work permit as soon as possible. The fact is that Egypt’s current ranking which is 57 in FIFA world rankings is not high enough to guarantee a work permit for Elneny. It was earlier rumoured that Arsenal’s applicaiton for a work permit for Elnenny failed initially but if the report from Guardian is to be believed then Wenger has been successful to get a special talent visa for him from the British home office.
If Elnenny makes a move to Arsenal, Wenger will use him as Francis Coquelin’s replacement until the Frenchman returns from injury. But it will be interesting to see when Coquelin returns how the battle for the first team shirt will continue between these two players.
Another central midfield option Santi Cazorla is also out with injury. The 30-year-old Spaniard was injured early in the second half of the Gunner’s draw with Norwich but managed to remain on the field for the rest of the match. He later underwent surgery on his knee and is sidelined for atleast another three months.
In the absence of Coquelin, Flamini has so far done a decent job, but it is widely accepted that he is not the man to go for in the long run if Arsenal actually want to win the league title.
Elneny started his career at Egyptian champions Al Ahly, but he was not seen good enough and left the club looking for first-team football. He found what he wanted at another Egyptian outfit El Mokawloon, but unfortunately his early career was disrupted by Egypt’s political turmoil and subsequent postponement of their national league, that’s why in 2013 he left for Europe.
At the age of 20, he joined Swiss club FC Basel, and the talented midfielder since then had become a first team regular at the start of last season. Of the 68 games the Basel played last year, Elneny played in 55 of them, and he only missed four league matches all season.