Arsenal are set to rival Italian giants Juventus for the signature of highly rated Slavia Prague winger Abdallah Sima, according to a report by Calciomercato.
The Senegalese winger was signed by the Czech side in the summer. He has made a flying start to his career at Slavia Prague, scoring six league goals in as many games, as well as a further three in the Europa League.
This form has attracted the attention of several top clubs, with club president Jaroslav Tvrdik slapping a £50m price tag on his head, as reported by Calciomercato. Arsenal and Juventus have both been linked with a move for the 19-year-old.
Sima has been compared to French forward Thierry Henry, who appeared for both Arsenal and Juventus during his illustrious playing career. He also looks up to Senegalese compatriot Sadio Mane.
Mikel Arteta’s side have been struggling for goals this campaign. Only Fulham, West Bromwich Albion, and Sheffield United have scored fewer goals in the Premier League this term, and no one in their side has found the net more than three times. The addition of a player with Sima’s goal record could be a very useful one.
Juventus haven’t had such problems hitting the target. However, they are the lowest scorers inside Serie A’s current top five, and Swedish winger Dejan Kulusevski is their only midfielder to have bagged more than once so far.
An outsider for his signature could be West Ham United, who are eighth in the Premier League at the time of writing. The East Londoners have a close relationship with Slavia Prague, having acquired Tomas Soucek and Vladimir Coufal from them in the summer.
Pleasure to play again with you bro ⚒ congrats on the next goal in @premierleague pic.twitter.com/Hv3yUvZb4K
— Vladimír Coufal (@Coufi5) December 11, 2020
The former has apparently urged the Hammers to make a move for Sima. Speaking to CT Sport (via the Express), Soucek said: “From what I see, I have to say, I’m excited about him (Sima). His goals are very much similar to what I’ve been scoring.
“I have to say that the guys or the media around West Ham know about him. I would only be happy if another player from Slavia came, but it is still far away.”
