‘Genuine’—Arsenal’s Interest in $115 Million Striker Confirmed by Agent

The Gunners are expected to be busy in the transfer market again this summer.

Mikel Arteta “likes him very much.” | Visionhaus/Getty Images

The agent of Bayer Leverkusen talent Christian Kofane has claimed that he is in “contact” with Arsenal over “genuine” interest in the striker ahead of the summer transfer window.

Kofane only made his pro debut 15 months ago, starting out with Albacete in Spain’s second division. He transferred to Leverkusen for a nominal fee last summer and has scored seven times in 39 appearances across all competitions.

The 19-year-old Cameroon international recently started both legs of the German club’s Champions League round of 16 defeat to Arsenal. Since then, Sky Sport Germany’s Florian Plettenburg has named the Gunners—and Real Madrid—among clubs “monitoring” Kofane.

The situation has moved along, with agent Eric Depolo talking up a potential move to the Emirates Stadium in quotes published by Daily Arsenal.

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Agent Reveals When ‘Everything Will Start Moving’

Christian Kofane has faced Arsenal twice this season. | Vince Mignott/DeFodi Images/Getty Images

Depolo is quoted as saying “Arsenal’s interest is genuine” and that Mikel Arteta “likes [Kofane] very much.”

“There is contact between me and Arsenal. But their focus right now is to win the league—from there everything will start moving.”

The agent went on to namedrop six other clubs, including four from the Premier League—Chelsea, Newcastle, Everton and Brentford are backed to rival Barcelona and Bayern Munich.

Depolo went as to far to say “Arsenal are in pole position” to sign Kofane based on relatively tenuous factors—speaking Spanish like Arteta and William Saliba’s Cameroonian heritage.

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How Much Will Christian Kofane Cost?

The original Sky Sport Germany report floated an upper valuation of $80.7 million (€70 million, £61.1 million) for Kofane, who represents long-term potential rather than proven impact.

His agent quoted a much more ambitious nine-figure price of $115.3 million.

Whether Arsenal would spent that amount—even on the lower end—on a gamble remains to be seen. The Gunners, whether they finish this season as Premier League champions for the first time in a generation or not, need to target players in other positions ahead of 2026–27.

An elite left winger—leading to reports of monitoring Anthony Gordon and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia—will set the club back substantially, as could a central midfielder given that Sandro Tonali and Elliot Anderson are among the options being considered. A fullback is another requirement, too.

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