Arsenal are already in contact with Christian Kofane’s camp, and his agent is not hiding where he thinks the race stands. Eric Depolo has said Arsenal are in pole position for the Bayer Leverkusen forward, with Mikel Arteta said to like him very much.
The agent’s case for Arsenal
Depolo told Metro that there is contact between him and Arsenal over Kofane. He also said Arsenal are in pole position because Kofane speaks Spanish like Arteta, which is the sort of detail clubs sometimes like to hear and agents almost always like to say out loud.
He did not stop there. Depolo added: "I have never had as many calls in my life as now regarding Kofane. Right now, he is the best Under-21 striker in Europe and the most complete one."
Why Leverkusen can push the price up
The valuation side is easy enough to see. Kofane scored 7 goals and added 4 assists in 29 Bundesliga appearances last season, then Leverkusen’s report said a bid in the region of €100m could tempt them to sell him, with his deal running through summer 2029.
That is a serious position for a 19-year-old forward to be in after a debut league season of that output. Depolo’s praise is backed by production, not just noise, and Kasper Hjulmand’s view that Kofane arrived in Europe at the end of 2024 and moved in the summer of 2025 helps explain why his stock has risen so quickly.
Arsenal’s own run also gives them a strong backdrop for a move. They go into this talk on a five-game winning run in the Premier League and after a perfect 8-from-8 Champions League league-phase record. Newcastle, Chelsea, Everton, Brentford, Barcelona and Bayern Munich have all been linked too, but the public push from Kofane’s camp is clearly aimed at putting Arsenal at the front of the queue.
The interesting part now is not whether the interest is real. It is. The question is whether Arsenal turn that contact into something more concrete before Leverkusen decide that €100m is enough to listen.
Written by Jack Mercer with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 1 outlet. How we work →