Cengiz Under: Profile on the Serie A starlet wanted by Arsenal and compared to Paulo Dybala

Since Unai Emery took charge of Arsenal the Spaniard has had a host of issues with playmakers Mesut Ozil and Henrikh Mkhitaryan.

With performances and attitude on and off the pitch from these two players causing some concern, the Gunners board may be looking for a new attacking threat in the January transfer window, with Roma’s Cengiz Under linked.

The 21-year old would certainly qualify as part of the energetic and more youthful setup that Emery is building at the Emirates, but reports from Italy show that Roma would appear to want close to £45million for the Turkish international.

So who is the man Arsenal would have to break the bank for? talkSPORT.com profiles the Roma ace.

Under moved to Italy from his homeland of Turkey where he played for Basaksehir, making 43 appearances, scoring nine goals and creating seven in his formative years.

Since his move to Roma for €14.5million, Under has already made the same amount of appearances in Serie A alone, and has played a role in 17 goals.

His most impressive game this season came in the Champions League group stage game at home against Viktoria Plzen where he netted twice, produced one assist and was named man of the match award in a routine 5-0 win at the Stadio Olimpico.

Almost a Citizen

Before his move to the Eternal City, Under had specified his ambitions to play in the Premier League, which lead to the dilemma of choosing between going to Italy or going to Manchester City who had made an offer for him.

His agent, Omer Uzan revealed that ‘City were working with Freiberg’ and upon signing Cengiz they were looking to loan him out to the German side immediately.

This was an idea that deterred the Turkish wonderkid and on the basis he would have the opportunity of first-team football in both domestic and European competition, Under favoured a move to Roma, where their sporting director Ramon ‘Monchi’ Verdejo was considered the ‘decisive factor’, according to Omer.

Nicknames and comparisons

With every young, relatively unknown, talent there are always comparisons – is he the next Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, or Neymar?

He’s not quite like one of these elite stars but sticking with Argentina, Under has been dubbed the ‘Turkish Dybala’ and was a straight replacement for Mohammed Salah at Roma, who moved to Liverpool in the summer of 2017.

Playing in the same league as Juve’s Dybala, Cengiz is comparable for his impressive dribbling skills and his ability to split defences and deliver powerful shots from his favoured left foot which could make him an enticing target for Emery.

Arsenal currently only have two left-footed players in either midfield or attack – Mesut Ozil and Granit Xhaka – and they do not offer the same direct goal threat that Under could provide to the team, adding to goals scored by Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexander Lacazette this season.

Euro star bounces back

Under has proven he can cut it at the highest level; in the Champions League this season he has made six appearances contributing to five goals in half a dozen games.

A concern with the 21-year old is that he took a while to settle at Roma, admitting he found it “difficult to adapt to life in Italy, learning the language and culture”. His national team manager, Mircea Lucescu, urged Under to keep going.

At the time his poor performances in Serie A – mostly as a substitute – led to manager Eusebio Di Francesco consider a loan for Under with the view of bringing in a short term replacement. It was an idea that was frustrating for Under as he was used to excelling with ease during his early career in Turkey.

Lucescu sat down with Cengiz though and attempted to help him with his linguistic skills to help him fit in more easily in Rome.

The Turkish national team coach knew Under wasn’t showing his best in Italy just yet given the prodigy had scored three times in six games for Turkey by the back end of November 2017.

So helping Under also helped Lucescu, as the coach wanted a reliable attacking threat for his Turkey setup; he urged Under to stay in Rome and not accept any loan offers.

Speaking in 2017, Lucescu stated: “I also advised Di Francesco to persist with him and work patiently with him because his qualities would’ve come out in the long run,

“I’ll be counting on him a lot in the future. Cengiz will become a pillar of the new national team.”

Premier League next?

Putting all of that to one side, it is certain that Under has matured during his time in Italy and a dream move to England and the Premier League is on the cards. Arsenal are leading the race for Under, but they could face could face competition from local rivals Tottenham – who reportedly made an approach for the winger in the summer of 2018.

Chelsea were also in the mix to sign him but are said to have cooled their interest after the recent January addition of American international Christian Pulisic from Borussia Dortmund for £58million.