Transfer Profile: Seko Fofana

Transfer Profile: Seko Fofana

Arsenal’s increased proficiency in the transfer market over the last two summers (whoever thought we’d say that!) means there is less scepticism than before when it comes to the players they get linked with. 

One player whose name has been cropping up a lot is Seko Fofana, a midfielder with Lens who most Gooners are probably not familiar with. 

First linked with a move to the Emirates Stadium in June, Fofana is apparently being viewed as an alternative to Leicester’s Youri Tielemans, who does not appear any closer to be making the move to north London. 

However, Fofana is more of a powerhouse in the middle of the park than the silky-smooth Tielemans, with some even going so far as referring to him at ‘the next Yaya Toure.’ 

That probably has more to do with Toure’s fellow Ivorian having a spell with Manchester City when he was younger after signing from Lorient when he was a teenager. 

You’d be forgiven for not knowing that joining Arsenal would not only represent a return to English football for Fofana but a second stint playing in London, as he spent most of the 2014/15 season playing for Fulham on loan in the Championship. 

Fofana scored one goal in 25 appearances for the Cottagers before getting his first taste of top-flight football in his next loan spell for Bastia, but it was after moving permanently to Udinese in 2016 that his career started to progress. 

He spent four years in Serie A, scoring 13 goals in 119 appearances for Le Zebrette, during which he switched his international allegiance from his native France to the Ivory Coast, the country of his parents. 

Fofana, who has won six international caps to date, moved back to France to sign for Lens in the summer of 2020 and it is there where he started to live up to his lofty billing. 

The 2021/22 season was a breakout campaign for him, as he hit double figures when it comes to goals for the first time in his career to help the Blood and Gold, who had previously endured some tough times in recent years, finish seventh in Ligue 1. 

He also won the Marc-Vivien Foe award for best African player in the French top flight, but how would he fit in at Arsenal? 

At 27, Fofana is slightly older than most of the players targeted by Mikel Arteta, but he would provide some much-needed power to add to the guile of the Gunners’ midfield. 

Thomas Partey aside, there aren’t too many players in the squad capable of physically dominating their opponents, while his goal tally of 10 from last season suggests he could give an added goal threat Arsenal’s engine room often lacks.  

With Fofana’s price being speculated at around £25 million, he would be a cheaper option than Tielemans, albeit one who is untested in the Premier League. 

However, signing players on the up has mercifully become more common under technical director Edu of later and should Fofana arrive, that would continue the trend. 

As mentioned, there is also the potential of him giving Arsenal’s midfield a different element, presenting them with the Plan B they lacked as last season’s Champions League qualification bid went up in smoke. 

Fofana represents a slightly bigger risk than some of the Gunners’ other summer signings should they follow up their alleged interest, but a player on the rise joining a team that looks on the rise sounds a good fit.

PHOTO CREDIT: GETTY IMAGES