Arsenal are reportedly interested in Bayer Leverkusen defender Edmond Tapsoba, with a potential transfer in mind, according to journalist Fabrizio Romano on Twitter.
A towering 6ft 4 defender, Tapsoba provides an authoritative presence in the box. Additionally, while his defensive positioning could use improvement, his deceptive quickness often makes up for this.
Additionally, he is also a skilled passer of the ball – a vital component of any centre-half at the top level in the modern game. He would likely be a solid signing for the Gunners – but they aren’t the only ones who want to bring him on board.
Who else in interested in Edmond Tapsoba besides Arsenal?
In Romano’s tweet, he wrote: “Premier League clubs are now tracking Edmond Tapsoba ahead of the summer transfer window — he’s one of the CBs to keep an eye on Arsenal and Tottenham scouts have monitored Tapsoba in recent games but the race is absolutely open — Bayer will only sell for huge bid.”
As such, Arsenal are joined by bitter rivals Tottenham Hotspur in their race to sign Tapsoba. Spurs are notoriously lackadaisical when it comes to major transfers – as such, the Gunners should be able to beat their North London rivals to the punch if they can conduct their business in a swift fashion.
Edmond Tapsoba career summary
Born in Burkina Faso, Tapsoba’s first foray into professional football took place in his home city of Ouagadougou at Salitas. He also spent time at US Ouagadougou, Leixões and Vitória de Guimarães before making the jump to Leverkusen in 2020 for a total fee of around £22 million.
Since then, the 24-year-old has gone on to make 99 appearances for Die Schwarzroten, scoring three Bundesliga goals in that time. He has also collected a handful of caps for Burkina Faso, scoring a single international goal along the way. In 2021, he was included in the Africa Cup of Nations team of the tournament.
