Arsenal midfielder Jeff Reine-Adelaide linked with season-long loan move to Ligue 1 side Nantes

Jeff Reine-Adelaide could become Arsenal's 11<sup>th summer exit, with Arsene Wenger ready to sanction a loan move for the midfielder. Ligue 1 club Nantes are said to be interested in signing him for the entirety of the 2017/18 campaign.

The Frenchman spent last season with the first-team and is highly rated by the manager, but an injury at the end of last season saw him miss Arsenal's pre-season tour of Australia and China as well as the Emirates Cup. He played with the Under-23 side against Lincoln City and Boreham Wood, but seems to have fallen down the pecking order in the running for a place in the first-team squad.

The 19-year-old was on the fringe of the first-team last season having made a total of six appearances across in the EFL Cup and the FA Cup, but has lost his place and his squad number – 31 - which was given to new signing Sead Kolasinac.

Reine-Adelaide is highly rated by Wenger and has been backed by a number of first-team players to succeed at Arsenal, but is unlikely to get a chance with the first-team this season. Ainsley Maitland-Niles, Reiss Nelson and Joe Willock seem to have moved ahead of him in the pecking order for a place in the first-team and according to French publication L'Equipe, the Gunners boss is keen for him to get regular football and has been offered to Nantes on a season-long loan.

Fellow Ligue 1 side Nice was said to be interested in signing the midfielder, but according to talkSPORT, Nantes are the favourites with talks set to take place soon. Reine-Adelaide is unlikely to be the only departure from now until the end of the transfer window after Wenger confirmed the need to trim the first-team squad due to the high numbers. The Gunners had listed 33 first-team players in the programme for the Community Shield.