Ainsley Maitland-Niles is in talks to join Wolverhampton Wanderers on a four year contract for £20 million from Arsenal according to the Guardian.
The 22-year-old first broke into the Gunners side in the 2017/18 campaign and has been in and out of the squad ever since.
Despite his natural position being in central midfield, Maitland- Niles has been mainly used as a full back during his time in Arsenal's senior squad.
However, due to him not being guaranteed regular first team action at the club, Wolves are interested in recruiting the young Englishman.
Especially with wing-back Jonny Otto set to be on the sidelines for a lengthy amount of time, Maitland- Niles would be able to come straight in and fill in for the Spaniard’s absence.
Although, the question is would he be good signing for Nuno Espirito Santo's side and is he really worth the £20 million price tag that is attached to him?
Would he be a good addition for Wolves?
With Jonny out for what seems to be a long period of time, Maitland- Niles would be a like-for-like replacement despite not being utilised as a left wing back before.
This is because he already has a couple of years of Premier League experience with Arsenal, making 53 appearances for the side managed by Mikel Arteta.
The youngster already understands the level of performance that is expected in the top flight and consequently it means that he does not need to worry about adjusting the way he plays his game in any way.
Wolves will know that he can cope with the pressure of playing in the Premier League because he has already proven to have done this in the three years that he has been playing football at this level.
Furthermore, his versatility could come in handy to the Wanderers especially if they suffer injuries in midfield.
The energy that he possesses and his quickness would arguably suit the way that Wolves play. When venturing forward they like to move the ball quickly in order to create room in dangerous areas for key men such as Raul Jimenez and Adama Traore.
Additionally, the pace that he obtains and the fact that he likes to close down angles and get in players faces, means that if he manages to win the ball in key areas, he has the ability to advance forward.
This consequently may open up space in the final third for Wolves attacking threats, meaning that if Maitland- Niles is able to slip them in when this is the case, it will give Santo's side a good chance to carve out a goal-scoring opportunity.
When being selected as wing back - which is the position where he is most likely to begin his potential Wolves career at - his energy will become useful.
This is because Santo expects his wing backs when his team advance forward, to get into wide positions that will cause a threat to opposition defenses
Ideally, he wants them in areas where they will have time on the ball to put good deliveries in for the likes of Jimenez - who bagged an impressive 27 goals last campaign.
Then when defending, especially against the tougher sides, Santo would want Maitland-Niles to sit in deeper as his team typically defend in a backline consisting of five personnel.
This is something that the 22-year-old has shown he is capable of doing during his spell at Arsenal. Throughout his - albeit - short Premier League career, he has primarily played as a full back and his impressed while doing so.
In fact, one of his most memorable performances for the Gunners came at Molineux in July in their 2-0 victory over Wolves.
On that particular occasion, he managed to keep an in form Traore at bay, which is something that not many defenders were able to do throughout the 2019/20 campaign.
Therefore, it can be viewed that it was this showing nearly two months ago, lured Wolves towards being interested in purchasing the Englishman.
Is he worth £20 million
With the price tag that Arsenal reportedly want from Wolves for Maitland Niles, it would no doubt be a risk for Santo because for that kind of money he would have to make a direct impact for the team.
However, it would be one that Santo would be willing to take because to move forward as club, the Portuguese manager has made it clear that the depth of his squad must be improved.
With this arrival, that certainly would be the case because it would provide good competition in midfield and in the wing back roles- something in which Santo is attempting to strive towards
Furthermore, the Wanderers will have no real concern about the Gunner man performing because he has shown to be capable of dealing with the pressure and height of the Premier League since 2017.
Additionally, it can be seen that Arsenal will want this deal to go through as well because they do not necessarily need him anymore due to them arguably having stronger alternatives at right back in the forms of Hector Bellerin and Cedric Soares.
Consequently, they will want the money from this sale to help rebuild and improve the starting 11, in order to try to make them a force challenging for regular Champions League football like they were under the reigns of Arsene Wenger.
Therefore, this is a deal that would benefit both clubs and the player himself as with him now getting older, he will want to try to break into the England first team.
This will not be a possibility if he is a bit part player which is all he will be at Arsenal, but at Wolves, Maitland- Niles is guaranteed more first team action.
Then if he stands out by performing well on a consistent basis, it gives him a far better chance of earning a call up to Gareth Southgate’s side in the future than if he remains where he currently is in North London.