Arsenal Opinion: Gunners should beat Liverpool to sign Lloyd Kelly from Bristol City
According to The Sun, Arsenal are keeping close tabs on Bristol City left-back Lloyd Kelly, with a view to a potential transfer in the summer.
The same report claims that Liverpool are also keen on securing the services of the 20-year-old promising starlet, who has established himself as a regular for Bristol City in the Championship this season.
The Sun also understands that Arsenal manager Unai Emery is expected to work with a tight transfer budget in the summer and the Spaniard is eyeing thrifty deals to bring a few young talents to the club in a bid to bolster his backline ahead of the upcoming campaign.
A youth product of Bristol City, Kelly enjoyed his breakthrough season at Ashton Gate in the previous campaign but the talented left-back has really come of age for the Robins this time around.
The 20-year-old has made a total of 32 appearances for Bristol City in the Championship this season and has been one of the architects of the Robins’ successful campaign in the second-tier, guiding his team to an impressive 8th-place finish.
Kelly has made a total of 48 appearances for Bristol City in all competitions till date, scoring twice and assisting a further couple. The youngster boasts of an impressive CV for a player of his age, having featured regularly for England at the U-20 and U-21 levels.
Standing at 6ft. 3 inches with a gigantic frame, Lloyd Kelly is an absolute beast of a left-back, although he is quite fast and agile for a player for his stature. However, his above-average height for a full-back makes him a dominant presence in the air, which is definitely an asset for any defender to have in the English game.
Despite his lanky build, Kelly is a very good dribbler and has the tendency to venture further up the pitch to support the attack, though his figures this season do not necessarily do justice to his abilities. The 20-year-old has only scored once in the Championship this season but he still continues to be a wonderful young full-back in the making.
Kelly is a good crosser and often plays the ball off the ground to set up attacks from the back. However, his prowess as a defender eclipses his offensive abilities, with his wonderful understanding of the game at the back, tough-tackling nature, physicality, aerial ability and high levels of concentration making him a fine young defender.
To put things into perspective, Lloyd Kelly looks like a real talent and he would be an ideal long-term investment for either of the aforementioned Premier League giants.
While Liverpool can look at him as a back-up for Andrew Robertson, with Alberto Moreno set for an exit in the summer, Arsenal are also desperate to bring in reinforcements at left-back, with 33-year-old Nacho Monreal out of contract at the end of the season.
The Gunners, however, can bag a massive coup and get one over their Premier League rivals if they manage to beat off competition for Bristol City’s 20-year-old starlet.
Despite showing plenty of promise in their first season under Unai Emery, Arsenal have come under criticism numerous times for their porous and vulnerable backline, with quite a few of their first-team defenders struggling for form and fitness.
The likes of Monreal and Shkodran Mustafi have been slammed by the fans the pundits for their lacklustre performances and the Gunners would need to bring in some fresh faces to replace their underperforming stars.
Arsenal currently have Sead Kolasinac as a viable option at left-back, although the Bosnian has proven that he is more suited to a wing-back role in a back-three system. Kolasinac, though very useful going forward, continues to be a suspect defensively and someone like Lloyd Kelly would do a better job in the longer run.
It might not be possible for the Gunners to secure Champions League football next season by finishing in the top-four in the Premier League but they can still make it to Europe’s elite club competition if they manage to beat Chelsea in the Europa League finals at Baku.
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Kelly has been widely tipped to make the step up to the Premier League in the foreseeable future and the Gunners have every reason to look at him as a long-term defensive fix.
