Arsenal, Chelsea and Man Utd battle for resurgent Bundesliga wonderkid

Tom Weber

Updated: 8 Mar 2024 16:16 GMT
4 min read

Mikel Arteta, Mauricio Pochettino, Erik ten Hag, 2023/24 — © IMAGO

A host of Premier League clubs are keeping tabs on Luca Netz, according to a report.

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The Borussia Mönchengladbach youngster is enjoying a brilliant campaign after facing some unexpected adversity. Tipped for superstardom from a young age, the Berlin-born left-back came through at Hertha BSC but never managed to establish himself at the club.

Netz's great misfortune - or fortune, in light of Hertha's struggles - is that his rise coincided with the capital club's era of lavish spending under controversial investor Lars Windhorst. With Marvin Plattenhardt and Maximilian Mittelstädt, who is now starring for high-flying Stuttgart, ahead of him, Netz's path to the first team was blocked, only making 11 senior appearances before departing.

It looked like a proper coup when Gladbach snapped him up for just €2 million, with the fee potentially rising to €4m, but his first season at Borussia-Park was a struggle. Though he more than doubled his Bundesliga appearances, he often featured as a substitute and things went from bad to worse the following year when he played fewer than 700 minutes.

Netz's resurgence catching the eye

This time around, however, the 20-year-old attack-minded full-back is a starter for the Foals. Netz has enjoyed a real resurgence this term, already playing more minutes than in his first season and notching five assists in all competitions to boot.

His improved form hasn't gone unnoticed. According to HITC, Arsenal, Man Utd, Chelsea and Newcastle are monitoring the youngster's development and their scouts have been watching him in recent weeks. It is claimed that West Ham also scouted him earlier in the season.

Chelsea and Man Utd have been in the market for a new left-back for some time, while FootballTransfers' exclusive reporting that Arsenal are open to the sale of Oleksandr Zincheko has also made it a position of interest for the Gunners.