Arsenal lining up Bundesliga full-back coverage
As they continue to experience defensive shortages, it seems Felix Bastians is the latest full-back to be linked with a move to the Emirates Stadium.
The club have been incredibly unfortunate in their efforts to deploy a long-term left back after selling Gael Clichy to Premier League rivals Manchester City over the summer transfer window.
The Frenchman was a consistent feature in the Gunners defence for the past five seasons and Arsene Wenger was forced to promote Kieran Gibbs to a starting berth after learning of Clichy’s desire to move away.
Although Gibbs poses a major aspiring talent who looks a shoo-in for a future in the England squad, the 22 year-old has been incredibly unlucky with a series of calf and muscular injuries, requiring operations that will keep him out until the end of January at the very earliest.
The North London outfit brought in Andre Santos in August originally as competition for Gibbs, however the Brazilian was added to the injury list in December and won’t be back until April.
Arsene Wenger is currently being linked with a variety of left-back signings that involve both loan and permanent moves including Wayne Bridge of Manchester City and Eric Abidal of Barcelona.
Bastians has a history of playing in England with numerous loan spells at lower league clubs including Gillingham, MK Dons and Notts County between 2005 and 2008 when he was on the books at Nottingham Forest.
Despite failing to make an impression, the 23 year-old’s value has gone nowhere but up since his move back to Germany where he has returned to fine form with Freiburg.
The Bundesliga outfit are feeling the pressure of the top flight however, and may be willing to let some of their talent go in January in an effort to reinvest i other talent.
Bastians carries a price-tag of £5m and could be considered a defender to watch out for if his spiking improvement continues in its current direction.
