Arsenal transfer rumour: Gunners eyeing Sassuolo's Gregoire Defrel as potential striker target

Defrel has been a key figure is Sassuolo’s rise these past few seasons

Arsenal may have signed Lucas Perez this summer but that still hasn’t prevented them from taking an interest in the latest sensation doing the rounds of the Italian Serie A. The player in question is Sassuolo's Gregoire Defrel.

The forward began his career with Parma before signing for Cesena where he went on to make 106 appearances and joined Sassuolo in the summer of 2015. While the forward doesn't look the most imposing person on the pitch, his dribbling skills have resulted in a lot of heartache for opposition defences.

Reports in the British media state that Arsenal coach Arsene Wenger has already dispatched scouts to monitor the French forward. The striker was a transfer target for Swansea City early in the summer, but nothing materialised as the Swans got hold of Spanish forward Fernando Llorente. Another Premier League club that was interested in the forward was Crystal Palace but even their interest failed to materialize as Alan Pardew preferred to settle for a more proven forward in the Premier League i.e. Christian Benteke.

The striker’s run of 5 goals in 6 games this season is an eye-catching stat, but it is the player’s direct running and dribbling that has now caught the eye of Premier clubs such as Arsenal and Liverpool. As per a report by Marc Williams of DailyStar, Liverpool have also been one of the admirers as scouts from both London and Merseyside were there to see the 25-year-old perform against Udinese on Sunday.

The striker although born in France has developed his football career in Italy, and has been in excellent form and has struck goals in his last four games. The forward, however, is yet to receive an international call-up and has often been compared to compatriot Jeremy Menez.

Sassuolo, who were in Serie C1 before being led by current Juventus coach, Massimiliano Allegrini to Serie B in 2008. They finally got promoted to the Serie A in 2013, which was their first time in the top tier of the Italian league since their inception in 1922.

Sassuolo, face Genk in the Europa league on Thursday, before taking on AC Milan at the San Siro in the coming weekend. Drefel will hope to continue his run of form and will look to add to his tally of 1 goal and an assist in the tournament.

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