Arsenal Transfer News: 'New Zinedine Zidane' Bilal Boutobba Reportedly Eyes Move

Bilal Boutobba, a prodigy playing for Marseille described as the "new Zinedine Zidane," is reportedly hoping to join either Arsenal or Juventus.

According to Federico Zanon of Calciomercato (translated by Edo Dalmonte), the 17-year-old has rejected his first professional contract from the Ligue 1 outfit in the wake of Marcelo Bielsa's departure, which has "made him lose faith" in their project and "has hinted" he likes the Gunners and the Bianconeri.

As Metro's Jamie Sanderson added, the midfielder is already earning comparisons with France legend and Real Madrid manager Zidane after becoming Marseille's youngest-ever player as a 16-year-old in December 2014, and he has thus far made two further first-team appearances.

French football writer Mohammed Ali described his refusal to sign a deal with Marseille as a "major blow":

Ali further shared the youngster's comments:

As the video below demonstrates, Boutobba already possesses great skill and an eye for goal:

While it could take him some time to break into the first team at the Emirates Stadium, the hot prospect has great potential. If Arsenal can snap him up, they could reap the rewards down the line.

MB Media/Getty Images

The Gunners are also set to pursue Gremio midfielder Walace Souza Silva and have made an approach for the 20-year-old, according to Claudio Colla of Transfermarketweb, with Alex Harris of the Daily Star noting he could be available for £6.5 million.

Arsenal already strengthened their options in defensive midfield in January by signing Mohamed Elneny. The Egyptian has impressed the Times' Henry Winter and Bleacher Report UK's James McNicholas:

However, according to Harris, the Gunners will almost certainly see Mathieu Flamini, Mikel Arteta and Tomas Rosicky depart in the summer, and in their absence, Arsenal are hoping to land a "midfield destroyer."

Despite Elneny's largely impressive start to his Arsenal career, the Gunners still appear to be vulnerable at the back, and the team's mental fragility has yet again been called into question after winning just once in their last seven games and losing four.

The 23-year-old has only featured sparingly in that time, though, only completing 90 minutes in the two FA Cup games against Hull City, so he could make Arsene Wenger think twice about signing another holding midfielder if he can prove himself consistently for the remainder of the season.

If not, an enforcer will be precisely what the Gunners need to add steel and resilience to their spine, and at the reported price, Walace could turn out to be a real bargain.