AS Roma boss Jose Mourinho is keen to sign Arsenal midfielder Albert Sambi Lokonga if recent reports are to be believed.
Lokonga joined the Gunners last summer, signing from Anderlecht for around £16 million. Since then, the Belgian has established himself as one of the club's most exciting young players - performing well as a no.6 as well as a no.8. However, he has found game time harder to come by recently, with manager Mikel Arteta fielding Granit Xhaka, Thomas Partey and Martin Odegaard as his preferred midfield trio.
Now, ASRomaLive have claimed that Roma manager Mourinho wants to bring the 22-year-old to the club before the transfer window slams shut next week following Georginio Wijnaldum's leg break. However, football.london understands that Lokonga will be staying in north London as Arteta wants a full-strength group of midfielders for the four competitions this term.
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And if Vincent Kompany's previous comments on the player are anything to go by, he has the potential to become a world class number eight. Speaking on Vibe with Five 's YouTube channel last year, Kompany said: "When I was still a player for City, I was coming to a point where I was thinking about my future.
"Management? Carry on? Sign a new deal? I was watching football from different countries, different places. And I saw Sambi play his first game - his first two games - then he got an injury to his knee.
"But the first thing I did when I saw Sambi is I went to Mikel (Arteta) and said, 'You've got to watch this guy, he's the new Yaya Toure.'
"Anyway, nothing comes of it. He's got a cruciate ligament, and then I ended up falling into the management job at Anderlecht, so I'm working with him now.
"And I had the same conversation about him with Mikel. I still believe the same thing now."
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