Southampton may have advantage over West Brom in Maitland-Niles hunt – report
Southampton and West Brom are the two clubs leading the race to sign Arsenal midfielder Ainsley Maitland-Niles on loan, according to The Daily Mail.
However, the Saints may have an advantage in the chase as a new update from The Daily Mail explains that a deal with the south coast club may be more attractive to Arsenal.
They report that Ryan Bertrand could head to The Emirates to sweeten the deal and West Brom are not in the position to offer a similar deal to the Gunners.
The Daily Mail claim that Bertrand would provide much needed left-back cover for Mikel Arteta’s side, something that has been lacking this season.
Maitland-Niles has deen deployed as a left-back on occasion this season so if the Gunners let him go then they would need some cover.
Bertrand’s inclusion in the deal would mean the Gunners wouldn’t be losing any cover in that position while gaining a player with plenty of Premier League experience.
With Bertrand only having six months left on his contract this deal looks very attractive for both Arsenal and Southampton.
West Brom simply can’t offer a deal that is as attractive as we highly doubt that Arsenal would be interested in reuniting with Keiran Gibbs.
This is far from a dealbreaker but if the Saints are happy for Bertrand to go then there is no denying that their offer looks better on paper compared to anything Sam Allardyce can promise.
Maitland-Niles may get more game time at The Hawthorns however and if this is his desire then he may push for a move to the west midlands.
But Arsenal won’t want to be caught short by any deal and if they believe that securing the services of a seasoned pro like Bertrand is an attractive option then that may be that.
There is sure to be plenty of twists and turns in the next few days and it looks like Maitland-Niles is sure to get his move away from The Emirates.
It is up to the club to decide where he ends up but at the moment it looks like Southampton are offering better terms.
In other West Brom news, Joleon Lescott wants this player to return to Albion’s starting line-up against Fulham.
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