North London rivals Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal have both registered an interest in 24-year-old centre-back Joachim Andersen who is currently on loan to Fulham.
The defender joined the Craven Cottage outfit from Lyon last summer and in the past couple of months, the youngster has really upped his value in the transfer market with some reports claiming that he intends to remain in the Premier League permanently.
Arsenal were said to rival Spurs in the signing of Joachim Andersen but according to pundit Dean Jones, the Danish international is more likely to play for the Lilywhites next season.
“To be honest, I think Arsenal face a battle to get him [Andersen],” he said on his Touchline Talk Podcast, as quoted by GMS.
“From what I’ve heard, Tottenham are definitely in pole position to get him. They’ve monitored him for quite a long time.
“At least three years he’s been on their radar and they’ve been considering a move for him. I think, from what I’ve been told, his performances at Fulham have just convinced them that this is the guy they need to go for.”
Joachim Andersen has played in 29 Premier League games this season for Fulham since joining in October so he is bound to demand regular playing time from the sides who are interested in signing him.
And right now, Spurs are in a much better position to offer such a deal rather than their North London rivals.
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Tottenham are expected to sell Davinson Sanchez in the summer meaning there will be only a handful of central defenders left in the first-team squad. But at Arsenal, there’re players like David Luiz, Rob Holding, Gabriel, Pablo Mari and William Saliba.
It’s not sure how many players Mikel Arteta is planning to sell in the summer but as things stand, there’s no way the Arsenal boss can guarantee regular first-team football to Joachim Andersen next season.
Also, Spurs are in a better position than Arsenal both on the pitch and also off it and we think Joachim Andersen will also take that into consideration.
And above and beyond all these things, the Lilywhites have a much better chance of playing in the Europa League while it looks like Arsenal will be devoid of European football next season. So it’s quite natural which team the Lyon man will want to join in the summer.
