According to Sky Sports, Newcastle and Wolves have joined Spurs in the race to sign Arsenal ace Ainsley Maitland-Niles, with the Mail reporting that the ace is available this summer for £20m.
Maitland-Niles appears to be up for the sale, with the Sun reporting a couple of weeks ago that funds made from the versatile talent will be used to boost Mikel Arteta’s transfer budget.
The 22-year-old has been involved in the first-team for a good few years now, with most of the natural central midfielder’s minutes coming as a makeshift right-back.
After a period on the periphery in the start of Arteta’s tenure, Maitland-Niles has now come back into the side as an important player with some particularly impressive performances as a left wing-back.
Maitland-Niles looked quality in the surprise FA Cup semi-final win against Manchester City as well as the triumphant clash against London rivals Chelsea.
The Arsenal academy graduate certainly has the ideal skill set for a wing-back, with the all-around and energetic ace recording the seventh-fastest top speed of the Premier League season, as per the Mirror.
It does seem quite a shame that Maitland-Niles is on the way out just as he’s beginning to prove himself as a solid contributor for the side, but netting £20m for the ace would certainly help the Gunners.