Scouting Arsenal Transfer Target Elseid Hysaj

The build-up to the Euro 2016 match between Albania and Switzerland on Saturday was understandably dominated by the story of Arsenal new-boy Granit Xhaka facing off against his brother Taulant.

Representing the Swiss and the Albanians, respectively, it was the first time siblings had been on opposite sides in a European Championship match. Enthralling though the situation was, it detracted from another interesting tale—how Albania full-back and reported Arsenal target Elseid Hysaj rose to prominence.

The reason the situation with the Xhaka brothers came about is due to the significant volume of Albanian immigrants in other European countries. The collapse of the communist regime in 1991 and the ensuing economic issues precipitated a mass exodus, with countries such as Switzerland, Germany and Turkey receiving substantial numbers of Albanian migrant workers.

Another country to receive its fair share of migrants was Italy. Its geographic proximity to Albania made it an obvious choice for a new home. In 1997, Italy introduced a perennial patrol of the Adriatic Sea in an attempt to control the numbers, but still many Albanians risked their lives to cross the sea and try to find new work opportunities and potentially a new home.

Gzim Hysaj, Elseid’s father, was one of those migrants. According to Ermal Kuka of the Guardian, he travelled to Italy as an illegal worker, taking on a variety of different jobs to raise money to send back to his family.

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Then fate intervened. In 2004, chance saw Gzim get a job restoring the house of Italian football agent Marco Piccioli. The two struck up a rapport, and Gzim even felt able to jokingly ask if Piccioli could secure his son a club in Italy. Elseid was just 10 at the time, so Piccioli laughed off the request—but Gzim did not forget. The two men remained friends, and four years later Piccioli consented to arrange trials with a number of Italian clubs.

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One of those clubs was Empoli, who snapped Hysaj up immediately.

What they saw was a defender who was already quick and strong with huge reserves of stamina. Hysaj is not just an athlete, though—he’s technically gifted and positionally intelligent. What’s perhaps most striking about him is his ability to play on either side of the defence. Although principally a right-back, Hysaj is equally comfortable when deployed as the left full-back.

His progress after arriving in Italy was dramatic. Per Kuka: 

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He was playing regularly for the youth team at 16 and was subsequently called to represent Albania at the Uefa Under-17 Championship in 2010. In November 2011 he made his debut for Empoli’s senior team, playing the full 90 minutes in a Coppa Italia match against the club that had decided to pass up on him, Fiorentina. 

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2012/13 was his breakthrough campaign, as he became a regular for Empoli in Serie B. He made a total of 35 appearances as his club narrowly missed out on promotion to the Italian top flight. He did not have to wait long to put that right, playing a key role as Empoli stormed back in to Serie A in 2013/14.

Hysaj has taken everything in his young life and career in his stride, and playing at the top level of Italian football was no different. After a strong 2014/15 in Serie A with Empoli, he followed coach Maurizio Sarri to Napoli in July of 2015.

That €5 million move made him the second-most expensive Albanian footballer of all time, behind only the current international captain Lorik Cana. Once again, he’s made the leap without any trouble at all, relegating Italy international Christian Maggio to a mere back-up for the right-back spot.

His progress has been equally serene with the Albanian national team. He made his debut at 18, becoming the third-youngest player to represent his country.

In the build-up to this summer’s European Championships, he was named captain for the friendly against Qatar, becoming the nation’s youngest-ever skipper in the process. Even as Albania went down to a 1-0 defeat against Switzerland, Hysaj was notably one of their more impressive performers. The Eagles have a new star. 

Now Arsenal have reportedly come calling. According to Harry Pratt of the Daily Star, the Gunners are weighing up a summer swoop for the gifted full-back:

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Arsene Wenger has been hugely impressed by Hysaj’s displays in Serie A during the last 12 months and is poised to confirm his interest with a concrete offer.

The Gunners boss is desperate to bolster his options in both full-back positions and believes versatile Hysaj who can just as easily slot in on the left side would give him exactly that.

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There’s certainly room for a new full-back at Arsenal. Although the Spanish pair of Nacho Monreal and Hector Bellerin were excellent last season, there are doubts over the men who started the last campaign as their back-ups: Kieran Gibbs and Mathieu Debuchy.

Debuchy spent the second half of last season on loan in Ligue 1 and seems destined to leave the club sooner rather than later. As for Gibbs, a lack of first-team opportunities has seen him linked by ESPN FC with a move away from north London.

Hysaj has passed every test so far, and few would bet against him succeeding at a club the size of Arsenal with regular Champions League football. The faith and hard work of his father is already paying off, but a move to the Premier League could be the high point in a truly remarkable story. 

James McNicholas is Bleacher Report's lead Arsenal correspondent and is following the club from a London base throughout 2016/17. Follow him on Twitter here.