Shkodran Mustafi Next Club Odds

Shkodran Mustafi was once a regular first team starter at Arsenal under the latter years of Arsene Wenger and his successor Unai Emery, but since the arrival of Mikel Arteta to the Emirates Stadium last December, the Arsenal squad looks to be undergoing a steady overhaul, of which alongside Mesut Ozil, Mustafi heads the queue of faces to leave the Gunners.

The Germany international was signed from Valencia in the summer of 2016 for a whopping £35million, but has struggled in recent times to earn a place in the Gunners first team, having made just four appearances this season in all competitions, tallying up to 195 minutes’ worth of playing time.

Following the knee injury suffered to club stalwart Gerard Pique against Atletico Madrid last weekend, which has seen the experienced Spanish defender ruled out for six months, Barcelona have been linked with Mustafi. This is a feasible move, as Mustafi is unlikely to come at a big price due to his current Arsenal contract, which sees him earn £90,000 per week.

Barcelona need defenders desperately due to the retched injury record of the likes of Samuel Umtiti, and are ironically no strangers in signing defenders from Arsenal, as Thomas Vermaelen also made the same move in 2014, having made just 15 league appearances for Arsenal in the 2013/14 season.

This move would make a great deal of sense for the Catalan club, as they showed in the summer that they are struggling financially to afford big transfer fees, as they failed to get Memphis Depay over the line for £35m from Lyon, and will have to explore alternative options to those which they would usually desire, hence why Mustafi is priced at 5/4.

At present Mustafi’s former club Valencia currently have the third-worst defensive record in La Liga, having conceded 16 goals in ten matches, this is only topped by Real Betis and Celta Vigo, who currently sit at the bottom of the table. Valencia are ninth in La Liga and will need to tighten up their defence to have any chance of reaching the European places.

Having played for the club for two seasons, Mustafi was a fan favourite despite the club having a poor 2015/16 campaign, the German impressed so much that the Spanish club demanded a £35m transfer fee from Arsenal, which was the third most expensive departure in their club’s history.

Valencia alike Barcelona, are a club that are struggling financially, hence why they have let so many first team players leave this season, such as Ferran Torres, Dani Parejo and Geoffrey Kondogbia.

The La Liga outfit could potentially utilise the loan market to try and bring back their former centre back, who is currently 3/1 to make a return to the Mestalla.

The Chinese Super League is often a place that many high earning players opt to go to, especially now with the Chinese league's foreigner rule which only allows four foreign players to feature in a match day squad, meaning that high-quality players like Mustafi are in good demand when they are made surplus to requirements by their clubs and are often offered astronomical wages as a perk to joining.

Mustafi would join the likes of Marouane Fellaini, Moussa Dembele and Oscar as high-profile Premier League players who have traded the English top flight for the Chinese Super League, and is 9/1 to follow their lead.

By Liam Bewsher