Arsenal Opinion: Eder Balanta could prove to be a massive bargain for the Gunners
According to the Daily Star, Arsenal are weighing up a bargain deal for Colombian international defender Eder Balanta in the summer transfer window.
Balanta, who currently plies his trade in Switzerland with FC Basel, is reportedly on Unai Emery’s wishlist for the summer, with Arsenal looking for bargain deals in the transfer window. (h/t Daily Star)
The 4-1 defeat at the hands of Chelsea in the Europa League final last week meant that Arsenal missed out on Champions League football for the 2019-20 season, dealing a huge blow to their transfer budget.
The Daily Star claims that the Gunners are likely to have only £45 million at their disposal this summer.
And, the financial crisis has prompted Emery to look for bargain deals in the market. The 26-year-old Colombian has earned rave reviews for his performances for the Swiss heavyweights and his impressive run of form hasn’t eluded the eyes of the Gunners scouts.
Vulnerability at the back was one of the major talking points from Arsenal’s first season under Unai Emery, as the Gunners ended up conceding as many as 51 goals in the Premier League this past season. Despite winning the hearts of the fans with some aesthetic attacking football, Arsenal’s porous backline proved to be an Achilles Heel in their pursuit of a top-four finish.
Emery constantly rotated between back-three and back-four systems to deal with the existing defensive crisis but it became more and more apparent with each passing game that Arsenal didn’t have the personnel to play either system to good effect. Club-captain Laurent Koscielny,33, struggled with injuries, whilst Shkodran Mustafi was slammed regularly by the fans and the pundits for his bizarre errors at the back.
Nacho Monreal reminded everybody that he is well past his prime and Arsenal desperately need to bolster their backline with some fresh blood. However, with just £45 million in the kitty, Emery has a tough job on his hands to bring in reinforcements at both centre-back and left-back.
Well, Arsenal need to find a way to shore up their leaky defence and Eder Balanta presents a decent option at a reasonable price. The 26-year-old doesn’t have an eye-watering profile but his versatility could prove to be a huge asset to the Gunners.
The news of Arsenal’s links with Balanta is unlikely to create too much noise amongst the fans at north London given that he is not a household name in European football.
While some might consider the move as rather underwhelming, the fans need to understand that Arsenal have plenty of problems to sort out this summer, which is going to be an uphill task given that they have such a low transfer budget at their disposal.
Balanta, who has been capped by Colombia on 8 occasions at the senior international level, carved out a huge reputation for himself at River Plate as a pacy, skilfull, and versatile left-footed defender. Standing at close to 6ft with a well-built frame, Balanta is a fast and agile centre-back, who is also very much capable of playing as a left-back.
An athletic defender noted for his physicality, aerial prowess and ability to cover ground very quickly, Balanta is calm and comfortable on the ball and often sets up attacks from the back with precise long passes.
A fearless tackler with high levels of commitment, the 26-year-old never hesitates to stick his foot out to cut out attacks and win possession back for his team. Furthermore, he often likes to venture further up the pitch and chips in with crucial goals and assists.
Rob Holding should be back in reckoning next season after recovering from his cruciate ligament injury but someone like Balanta would provide cover in multiple areas of the pitch for the Gunners, with his ability to play at both full-back and centre-back.
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Arsenal could have a massive bargain on their hands if the move pays off and Balanta successfully makes the step up to the Premier League, but if he doesn’t deliver the goods, it won’t be much of a loss for the Gunners at the quoted price of £4 million.
It would be a bit of a hit-or-miss type of a transfer for the North Londoners but they have hardly got a choice, with the financial restrictions in place.
