Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger is set to bolster his squad in January with a bid for highly rated Turkish starlet Mevlut Erding.
The young Sochaux striker has been hitting headlines in France for his impressive ability, and has been making his mark at international level, helping Turkey reach the semi-finals of the European Championships in the summer.
The 21-year-old has been at Les Lionceaux for the last five years, and his contract ends in June of next year, so rather than risk losing him for free next summer, Sochaux will be more open to offers in January, and Arsenal are reportedly ready to make a bid for the youngster.
The France-born Turkish international has scored 17 goals in 51 league appearances for Sochaux since his promotion to the first team from the youth team in 2003.Erding is also becoming a bigger player in the Turkey international setup, and now has eight international caps to his name, scoring his only goal for his country in yesterdays 2-1 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Arsenal have seemingly been in hot pursuit of another striker to provide backup for their current roster, and came close to signing Brazilian sensation Diogo from Brazilian Serie A club Portuguesa during the summer. However, they ended up pulling out of the bidding war, allowing Diogo to move to Olympiacos of Greece.
(Aaron Ramsey)
