Fiorentina still interested in buying Eboue

Fiorentina still interested in buying Eboue

~

Fiorentina coach Cesare Prandelli would love to have Arsenal right-back Emmanuel Eboue among his squad for next season.

La Viola have been linked to Eboue since the Ivory Coast international revealed last month that he could leave the Emirates Stadium after growing frustrated by his failure to hold down a regular starting spot.

His name was mooted as part of a possible swap deal involving Felipe Melo before the midfielder secured a move to Juventus.

And Prandelli has revealed they are still very much in the hunt for Eboue, who can also play in midfield.

"Eboue is a very important player,'' he said. "In attack he is second to very few players in his role.

"I'm not going to look at other positions because first we want to evaluate what we have in order not to make the slightest mistake in the market.

"We have to make targeted moves. Eboue has characteristics which we are definitely looking for.

"We want to attack a lot on the wings and so we need players who are good at forcing their way through and with good technical skills too.

"I repeat that this Arsenal lad has a stand-out driving force.

"I don't want to think about other roles at the moment, also because he is not yet our player.''

Eboue moved to Arsenal from Beveren in January 2005 and became a first-team regular in the second half of the following season.

However, inconsistent form has seen him overtaken by Bacary Sagna and Theo Walcott in the pecking order.

The 26-year-old was booed by the Gunners fans back in December after coming off the bench against Wigan and was himself substituted.