Arsenal midfielder Ainsley Maitland-Niles is prepared to push for a loan move this month to boost his chances of making the England squad for Euro 2020, The Mirror reports.
The 23-year-old is a central midfielder by trade, but he has generally played for the Gunners in the full-back or wing-back positions.
Maitland-Niles was the subject of interest from Wolverhampton Wanderers last summer, but the Gunners snubbed the approach to keep him.
At the time, it appeared a superb decision made by the club, given Maitland-Niles played a key role in the club’s FA Cup winning run.
Since then, he has been restricted to only 485 minutes of Premier League football and is now said to be eyeing a temporary move elsewhere.
SportsLens view:
Gunners boss Mikel Arteta has recently reverted to a traditional four-man defence from a back three and that has hampered the playing time of Maitland-Niles.
Kieran Tierney and Hector Bellerin are the undisputed picks for the left and right-back positions respectively when fit and available.
On top of this, Cedric Soares has jumped ahead of Maitland-Niles in the pecking order and has recently impressed from both positions.
Maitland-Niles forced his way into Gareth Southgate’s Three Lions squad with his tireless and consistent displays and he needs game time to stake his claim for Euro 2020 selection.
Wolves were in advanced negotiations to land him before the Gunners pulled the plug on the deal. They may revive their interest this month due to the player’s versatile qualities.
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