Arsenal are looking into the legal aspects of a possible deal for former Fulham midfielder King Gyan Osei, before deciding whether to pursue an offer, according to SkySports and sources in Ghana.
The 21-year-old defensive midfielder is a free agent after being released by Fulham due to complications with his work permit. Osei joined the Cottagers ahead of Manchester United from the prestigious Hearts of Oak Academy in 2007. After having an application for a visa turned down, he was sent to Belgian outfit Germinal Beerschot on loan for three seasons. He has been regularly returning for training sessions in which Roy Hodgson has been notably impressed.
However, upon application for a E.U visa this summer, Fulham were told the player needed a minimum 12-month residency to attain the documents. After frustration at the further holds up in the transfer, the club decided not to renew his contract and he has since been released. Arsenal have good connections in Ghana and Belgium and have been long term admirers.
A selection of Belgian clubs including Beerschot and Anderlecht have already been in touch but King favours a move to England. SkySports sources claim the Gunners are very keen to complete a deal but reports in Ghana suggest they are taking their time due to the complexity of the work permit rules. Manchester City are also believed to be firmly interested.
Osei is a hard working and very defensive holding midfielder. Despite being only 5’9, he is strong, powerful and fierce in the tackle. In his 36 months with Beerschot, he made 57 appearances, scoring two goals.
Bring him in, the more the merrier. We need as much cover as we can get in the DM position.
Sure some will moan that Eastmond should automatically get a place, being English and all. But I don’t care, if he’s good, he’ll rise to the top.
Come on wenger.
True. There are plenty of midfielders coming through besides eastmond, but signing osei could only add more competition and only the best should make it at arsenal regardless of nationality! Eastmond does look a good player to me tho :)
a while ago we were linked with anthony annan (another african) and now this bloke, although annan is older(only by few years).. how do these two compare? is osei strictly defensive or can he play box-to-box a la vieira.
1st
He was born 22 December 1988.
Why is that important? Because he was over 21 on 1st January 2010 under the new rules he would count against BOTH the 25 man limit.
I remember we were heavily linked with another kid from Hearts of Oak a while back. He was meant to be a real prodigious gem. Can you remember who he is J? Do you have any other information on him?
Tawrick Jibril – moved to pompey still on loan with Hearts of Accra
Just to clear up a few points in connection with the visa. Firstly, there is no EU visa unless of course you’re talking about the Schengen of which most of western Europe has signed up to except for the UK and Ireland. A Schengen visa is a visit visa issued on a single or multi entry basis for citizens of countries who are required to have them ie Russians, all or most of the African countries and much of the far east. Having residency, for whatever purpose in any of the Schengen states does not entitle you to residency in any of the others or does it qualify you for a UK visa of any discription. For this player to qualify for a UK work permit or a Tier 2, he has to satisfy the requirements for a professional sports person. If Fulham have failed to acquire him a visa then Arsenal will probably fail too unless there has been a significant change in his circumstances that will allow UKBA to consider these changes.
Is that the dude Tony Adams signed for Portsmouth? Name evades me too.
Meh. We already have Eastmond and there’s Coquelin along with Frimpong coming through.
bloody hell it took ages to google, is it: Torric Jebrin you ask about?
I think he’s back at hearts on loan as Portsmouth stop paying Zulte wagrem or whatever the hell their called.
if he did not sign a new contract for Fulham after them waiting 3 years for him, it is not the kind of guy I would like at Arsenal. Always hits back, like with Flamini. Ungrateful to those who gave you a chance. If he can sign for others, I am certain he could have signed a new contract with Fulham to
sebjob: I believe it was Fulham that pulled out fröm the deal….
yeah if Fullham cant sign him because of his work permit issue then how can city or Arsenal sign him need some clearity on this
It’s not that Fulham can’t sign him, they can if they wait 12 months. But they have got frustrated and not renewed his contract. If Arsenal or City sign him, he will still have to be loaned for 12 months.
It’s this kid Torric Jibril
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/football/article1202234.ece
cheers ron, you set me on the right track
So why didnt Torric sign and I thought he was going to At. Madrid
one question,WHY?????????
I feel this would be a great signing as personally i felt we struggled most in the games where song was missing so this addition would be perfect but seriously is wenger trying to strengthen our attack without spending any money first chamahk then now possibly cole and now Osei
Put lansbury as defensive cover. he is a box to box player and works hard for the team. Eastmond reminds a little bit of Viera to me and he play so calm. Eastmond will be a real super star in the coming years but right now lansbury is the better one and will also be a super star for us in the coming years.
I don’t understand. First, if Fulham can’t get a visa for him, how can we? Second, if he’s already spent three seasons in Belgium surely he qualifies now for an EU passport (a Belgian one) which would entitle him to live and work and here? (How long did Eboue have to stay at Beveren? I’m sure it was less than four years.) It sounds like we’re going to sign him and then have to loan him out for at least one more season. Free players – great. We’re picking up a whole squad of those (Chamakh, Joe Cole and now this guy). Trouble is, if this is the only defensive midfielder we’re getting, it’s going to mean yet another season where we’re completely dependent on Song staying fit the whole year. If he gets injured, we’re in real mess with only Diaby or Denilson or the inexperienced Eastmond, who just aren’t good enough for the tougher Premiership or CL games. You can see it happening already, can’t you? Wenger will play Song in every game, then come April, when things are hotting up, poor Song will do his hamstring or knee or whatever, and our season will, as usual, implode.
sounds to me like this guy would be another bischoff if we got him.
bischoff!
a classic transfer. i love wenger for his bischoffs.
i wonder what became of young amaury. he looked like he would do a good job for a mid table team.
Hmm, he wasn’t even a fulltime starter for Germinal Beerschot and was never considered as one of the better prospects in Belgium. On the other hand, nobody thought the Ivorian players that played in Belgium would turn out this good (eboué, yaya touré, romaric, gervinho…) so maybe he can step it up. Hodgson has an eye for talent so if he rates him he could be worth a shot. Very big step though, from beerschot to arsenal.
About his playingstyle, he is in the Flamini mold, though more defensive. Constantly running, harrassing players, tackling, but not really the guy to push forward.
Maybe Wenger has connections in the home office!
Regardless of how or if – does anyone have any insight into this player, is he capable of competing with Song this season? As its not just about cover, its also about creating healthy competition, and at the moment there isn’t any for Song!
Do people really rate Eastmond that highly? Looks to be a capable footballer, but certainly lacks many of the attributes to be a DM at the top level. Maybe a season on loan in the prem would prove me wrong.
Eastmond is tough, doesnt back down, puts in a good tackle, technically sound but he needs to learn to command the midfield like Song does and that will come with time. HE also needs to bulk up
Eastmond can fill in for Song no problem. You heard it here first. I didn’t have any pre-concieved notions regarding Eastmond last year becuase I hardly saw him play at all. So judging by the way he played this past year, I really think he can do it. He’ll easily be able to do it. Lansbury seems a bit more offensive minded to me than Eastmond. I’m not saying that’s a bad thing, but you might be limiting his offensive output by sticking him in the defensive midfield position. Denilson will be 50% better than last year if he doesn’t get injured. I really do have confidence in Eastmond and Denilson to fill in for Song if they need to. Song is the best, but it’s always good to have cover. I don’t know much about King Osei so I’ll leave that up to J and you guys.
how old is he?
It’s not that Fulham can’t sign him, they can if they wait 12 months. But they have got frustrated and not renewed his contract. If Arsenal or City sign him, he will still have to be loaned for 12 months.
none of us know anything about him
is he any better than Denilson, Eastmond or even Coquelin
From what I’ve seen of him ( 2 full games from when his team played my hometown team, highlights from other games) he didn’t look a better player than Denilson. More suited for the defensive midfieldposition altough he isn’t comparable to Song, different style. But like I said, that’s based on limited viewing.
they have had him for 3 years. why cant they just wait 1 more?
eastmond looks too slight to hold our midfield together for anything more than the odd game. he needs to bulk up i think. it’ll take him maybe 3 years to get to where denilson is now.
denilson doesn’t convinve me he will make it.
i think we need another one in there, maybe ultimately to replace denilson. this guy sounds decent.
Eastmond needs to improve his frame that’s it, he’s a tough guy and from all the games I have seen of him he didnt look out of place which is extraordinary because he didnt go on any loans or anything like that
Denilson is not a DM he doesnt have the phsyique or meaness for it
I think Wenger always wanted to make into him the next Gilberto Silva mould and he did a good job in the 4-4-2 system for us last year
J what do you think our formation will be next year for youth and First team? I doubt it will be 4-4-3 for the first team as we now have 5 strikers but Bould might stick with 4-3-3 because of a lack of strikers
chamakh means we’ll go back to 4-1-3-2 or 4-5-1.
if arsene wenger was to tell the home office “hey, i want this kid now, he’s a special talent” who the f*ck are the home office to question or disagree with arsene wenger.
if i was in charge of the home office, i would give wenger free reign to bring in any talent he sees fit. he’s proven himself to be one of the best talentspotters in the world.
the home office would probably have scuppered us from signing messi if we had tried for him when he was a kid.
Home office has to be the same for every one they cant show favouritism
the home office rules are shortsighted.
look at how spain has benefited from having messi. how much have spain’s tax receipts directly and indirectly gone up due to having messi in the country? yet the home office would not have let us take him when he was a boy. look at how england has benefited from having wenger. yet they would not bend to his assessment of a player. they know better do they?
if the FA had bigger cojones it would lobby the government harder for more freedom for our academies and big clubs to source and secure the best international talent. if the government was smarter they would recognise that the premier league is a flagship industry for this country and they would do more to help it retain its position as the best league in the world with the best players in the world. but no. no such luck.
I just read that he has been out for 1 year with a broken leg.
who????
King Osei.
Then he will be able to recover in his loan spell where every he plays
Wilshere made an impact at Bolton lets hope he can really turn it on next year this is what Davies thought about him
The Gunners teenager enjoyed an impressive six months on-loan at Bolton last season.
“I’ve had the privilege of working with Jack and for such a young boy, he’s going to be one hell of a player,” Davies told the Bolton News.
“He’s outstanding in training, he mixes it up a bit and gives a bit back and for an 18-year old you don’t really see that.
“It would be great to see him back at the club again, but we’ll wait and see.”
With lads like this you have to accept that AW knows what he is doing. I hope that by Christmas AW will have sold several players who although good quality will never make the star quality we need ie; Diaby, Denilson, Traore, plus a few injury prone good players like Rosicky and Eduardo…..this will clear the way for some of our young stars like Lansbury and Eastmond .
I think Traore knows he’s not going to make it at arsenal and that’s why he’s looking for a PSG move
Diaby In my view has a very very bright future with Arsenal and will become a regular with us next season in my view
Denilson has everything to be a great DM except for the lack of meaness or physique because he has a great long shot, he can put in a clean tackle and has a good tank inside except the physique to really commnad the midifield
He can do the job in a 4-4-2 fomration but he will never become a DM in PL
I think Eduardo will be sold this summer as he has a lot interest from France and Brazil and I think he wont be able to get over the mental block until he moves from England
Rosicky future depends on whether we sign a player for his posiiton or not if not then he can stay as a good squad player.
you are wrong and know nothing about football.
He got it right on most accounts except for Denilson in my view
Denilson just needs to bulk up, Masherano doesnt have a great phsyique but he’s one of the best and Denilson can become the same. Denilson’s 5’11 so all he needs to do is bulk up and rest will come with experience.
@SB you’re the one who’s stupid
i hope wenger doesn’t give up on eduardo and rosicky just yet…they both had bad luck with injuries and deserve a chance to reestablish themselves. both have unique and worthwhile attributes. the same would probably go for diaby and denilson…let’s not give up on them yet. that said, if these guys can’t ripen in the next year then wenger should be looking past them to better options.
Have you seen him play J? What’s your own opinion on him?
I would love to see little Jack back at Bolton, the manager and team seemed to really like him, finding a prem team who are willing to start the lad is fantastic and we should take up the offer again.
On the subject of this post, DCM, it would be great if we could get either Eastmond or Coquien on loan in the premiership to, maybe one of them giving Jack some company at Bolton would be perfect. If Eastmond can rough it up at Bolton for a season he will come back to Arsenal well prepared to grasp that position.
Milo: I agree Denilson will get better and I still have faith he will be a very good player. I am sure he will bulk up and bring more fight to his game as he matures and gains more experience. The only problem is when we already have Denilson and Song still learning their trade, can we really afford the rely upon a new crop of young midfielders to be their understudy and potentially have to play in crucial games?
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J, any reason why the extra 12months was added? I read it as he needs to reside abroad for 12months, although I would assume that he would have lived in Belgium while playing there? If not it’s one hell of a commute.
Only reason for asking is that we’ve had a few of our own take similar 3year loans and it hasn’t cropped up before and hopefully won’t in the future.
J
any news on who are being considered for a loan spells
I want to see Tech9 on loan to a championship or PL club any news where he might be heading to on loan
Same for Freeman, Bartley, Lansbury, JET, Wilshere and so on
almunia and fabianski out, schwarzer in, tec9 no.2
does any know the height and age of nico yennaris?
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4 years is a hell of a long time to wait for a player to be eligible to play. no wonder fulham got fed up. 2-3 years parked in belgium really ought to be enough. stupid ill-conceived immigration laws stifling a good talent.
its funny how people slander Diaby, did anyone see him for France yesterday? he was really good!
he was better than really good, he ran the game for france just a shame the rest of the team weren’t up for it. i rate Diaby as one of our best players he has it all in his game just lacks consistancy. the blokes technichal ability is second to none.
Yes Diaby was great for France. I was suprised the pundits didn’t praise him more as France didn’t really provide much else to talk about!
After watching that game it also makes the absence of Nasri even stranger.
I don’t think Schwarzer is much better than what we have….especially on tonights 2nd goal!!!
Hey Gooner, Nico’s height was told 179 a year ago, so he could been grown a little from there, he’s sixteen and have his 17-birthday on 23. of this month, so he could get professional contract in this summer.