Who is Jean-Michael Seri? Arsenal in talks with Nice midfield ace over summer move
Football Whispers take a look at the Ivorian ace linked with a move to the Premier League giants this summer window
ARSENAL are set to make strong moves in the transfer market this summer as Arsene Wenger's successor gets to work.
The French boss departed after 22 years, but the club are still looking to one of his long-time targets - Jean-Michael Seri.
The Ivorian midfielder is currently in talks with the Gunners about becoming their first summer signing.
takes a closer look at the Nice dynamo linked with being the next big-money signing at the Emirates.
Who is Jean-Michael Seri and where does he come from?
BORN in the Ivory Coast, the diminutive midfielder began his career at Africa Sports in his homeland before moving to ASEC Mimosas in 2010.
It wasn’t long before the European scouts were circling and just two years later, as a 21-year-old, Seri signed a loan deal with FC Porto’s B-team.
He never managed to make the jump up to the main squad but played 13 times in the second tier and scored once.
That was enough to impress Pacos Ferreira, however, and the mid-table side signed Seri on a free transfer.
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And that’s where the Ivorian found his wings, playing 69 times, scored three goals and registered seven assists in the top-flight.
In the summer of 2015 came a turning point for Seri.
Nice were in the process of rebuilding and, even though they received £9m from Aston Villa for Jordan Amavi, they were operating under a strict budget.
Keen to find a bargain, they spent £850,000 to bring the virtually unheard of Seri to Ligue 1.
Not much was expected of the 24-year-old, but he played in every league game, contributed three goals and six assists and earned his first international cap for the Ivory Coast.
And when captain Nampalys Mendy made the trip across the channel to sign for then-English champions Leicester City, it left more space in the midfield for Seri to blossom.
New boss Lucien Favre subsequently changed to a 3-5-2 formation early in the campaign, but showed flexibility in moving to 4-4-2 and 4-4-3 – but Seri was at the heart of everything they did regardless of the system.
How much will he cost?
NICE president Jean-Pierre Rivere has been clear.
The club have an agreement with the 26-year-old which allows him to leave for £36million.
In summer 2017, Roma apparently agreed terms with the player with regards to the wages he’d earn if he moved to the Italian capital, but they were not able to stump up the funds to seal the deal.
Nice are happy to admit that players will depart this summer and Seri expected to be one of them.
Seri has grown to become a midfield general on the Cote d’Azur, becoming the type of player that can dictate a team’s movement.