Liverpool and Arsenal battle Bayern in race for French teenager
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News that Juventus might sell France Under-21 international Kingsley Coman has reportedly alerted Liverpool and Arsenal, although the Premier League pair will struggle to compete with Bundesliga behemoth Bayern Munich for the teenager’s signature.
Despite only arriving in Turin from Paris Saint-Germain 13 months ago, and tasting Champions League final action late on in his side’s 3-1 lost to Barcelona in May, Coman is thought to be agitating for a move due to a perceived lack of game-time.
Both Reds boss Brendan Rodgers and Gunners gaffer Arsene Wenger are thought to be keeping tabs on the 19-year-old, but with speculation mounting that Germany’s World Cup final-winning goalscorer Mario Gotze could move to Juventus this summer, Bayern seem to have the perfect bargaining chip.
Gotze is far from guaranteed a spot in Pep Guardiola’s first-team next term, having been benched for both legs of Die Roten’s Champions League semi-final defeat at the hands of Barca.
Arturo Vidal’s signing from Juventus serves to not only put further pressure on the 22-year-old’s place at the Allianz Stadium, but also opens up a spot in the Serie A champions’ squad that Gotze seems keen to fill.
The Chilean’s departure doesn’t really help striker Coman’s chances of becoming a fixture in Massimiliano Allegri’s Bianconeri XI though, with Pablo Dybala and Mario Mandzukic already added to the Juventus forward ranks this summer.
At 16 years and just over eight months old, Coman became the youngest first-team player in PSG’s history when coming on as a late substitute for Marco Verratti in a 3-2 loss to Sochaux during the 2012/13 Ligue 1 campaign.
The youngster has been part of title-winning squads in each of his three seasons in the professional ranks, so could be seen as a lucky omen by Premier League-chasing duo Liverpool and Arsenal, though they’ll clearly struggle to get him.
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