Written by Tony Merakli
It’s been reported today that Arsenal along with several other European clubs are said to be interested in signing Feyenoord striker Luc Castaignos according to the player’s agent.
In the past, the Dutchman had been a target for many illustrious clubs such as Real Madrid, Inter Milan, Bayern Munich and Manchester United following a successful performance with the Netherlands U-17 at the 2009 UEFA European Under-17 Football Championships. However, Castaignos opted to stay in Rotterdam and continue his development with Feyenoord.
So far this season the striker, who is likened to Arsenal legend Thierry Henry, has managed to make a total of 17 appearances (in all competitions) for Feyenoord and has netted only 4 times. His current career record stands at 4 goals in 21 appearances…nothing special at all. However, his international record does speak for itself. Capped 17 times for the Under-17 squad, Castaignos has bagged 13 times, whilst capped at Under-19 level, the striker has netted 9 times in 14 caps.
The comparison between the youngster and Henry was made by Netherlands Under-17 coach, Albert Stuivenberg who admitted similarities with the French ace’s style, he said:
“His style of play has something in common with Henry. Some of his team-mates have compared him to Henry because he not only plays like him, but also looks like him a bit.”
The 18-year-old is said to be rated at approximately £4 million and his agent, Arie Treffers, believes there are a number of clubs who want to sign him this January. He was quoted in the Daily Mail saying:
‘Arsenal and Tottenham? There are many interested, but only Inter have made a firm move.’
A potential January deal maybe on the cards, but should Arsenal make a move for him this winter? Well, looking at his statistics, it’s clear to see that the striker is not a clinical finisher in any stretch of the imagination, especially in domestic football. Internationally is a different story altogether, and although his record looks impressive it’s domestic football where you need to produce. However, he is still a youngster learning his trade and could potentially be a star in world football one day, but to be dubbed the new Thierry Henry at this stage of his career is a farce and almost laughable.
I still think we need to sign a top quality striker this January but Luc Castaignos is not the man to fit this bill.
This article was first published on Gunnersphere.com
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Arsenal had the chance to sign Castaignos when they signed Ebecilio from Feynenood in the summer and yet they didn’t, making this article a load of old tosh.
Arsenal have already got a Henry, but a headless chicken henry call walcott.
It is a load of old tosh, as your comment is, Samuel, because Feyenoord wasn’t selling him at that time, nor did he wanted to go, plus his contract has been extended for another 2 years.
I am not sure Feyenoord are selling him now in the first place. Statistically he might not look good domestically, but you need to look at the fact that Feyenoord has been struggling most of the season. On top of that, Luc has started scoring goals. He had a long dry run, but the last few weeks he’s finally picking up goals. Besides, I think the writer of this article didn’t stand still by the fact he only just turned 18.