There’s a good chance that Albert Sambi Lokonga could still leave Arsenal before the end of the summer transfer window, according to Fabrizio Romano in his exclusive CaughtOffside column.
The Belgian midfielder initially looked an exciting prospect when he first moved to the Emirates Stadium, but it’s fair to say he hasn’t really lived up to expectations and a move away now surely makes sense.
Lokonga spent the second half of last season on loan at Crystal Palace and didn’t really have much of an impact there either, though he’s seemingly had a fair amount of interest from other Premier League clubs this summer.
The likes of Burnley and Brighton have been linked with the 23-year-old, and Romano thinks there’s a decent chance he could leave Arsenal in the coming days, though he’s only currently a Plan B option for Brighton, so it’s not looking that clear at this stage where he could end up.
“Another deal that has seemingly failed to develop over the summer is one for Albert Sambi Lokonga, who has been linked strongly with Burnley and others,” Romano said.
“He’s a promising young player but first-team football has been difficult for him at Arsenal and that will surely be the case even more now with the arrival of Declan Rice in midfield.
“I still think there’s a good chance for him to leave Arsenal as he wants to play regularly, but we will have to see about the formula. As for those rumours about Brighton, they have Lokonga on their list as alternative option, but he’s a plan B at the moment because their priority now remains Carlos Baleba from Lille.
“There’s no agreement yet but Brighton are still pushing for Baleba. They submitted a bid worth €25m plus add-ons, and negotiations continue, even if Lille haven’t accepted yet.”