Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur share a transfer target who is valued at £58million and Lionel Messi voted for a prestigious award ahead of several other big names

Lionel Messi had reported Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur transfer target Ibrahim Maza third on his ballot for the Kopa Trophy.

Maza, 20, received just one vote to finish ninth out of 10 nominees for the award selected by former Ballon d'Or winners. Messi included the Bayer Leverkusen midfielder in his top three alongside Barcelona and Spain's Lamine Yamal and Pau Cubarsi.

That inclusion came at the expense of Ayyoub Bouaddi, Eli Junior Kroupi, Johan Manzambi, Kerim Alajbegovic, Lennart Karl, Warren Zaire-Emery and Yan Diomande. Maza notably played for Algeria in their 3-0 defeat against Argentina at this summer's World Cup.

TEAMtalk claims Arsenal and Spurs have been tracking the midfielder and are said to have watched him this season. Aston Villa, Chelsea, Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain are also apparently monitoring Maza.

He has been almost ever-present for Leverkusen this season. Maza is making an impact too, scoring four goals and assisting another three in a dozen appearances across all competitions.

Internationally, the midfielder has played in 16 consecutive matches for Algeria dating back to last winter's Africa Cup of Nations. He already has 24 caps for his country and could add two more before turning 21 on 24 November.

Maza spoke after Leverkusen's loss to Stuttgart on Saturday. He said: "I wanted to focus on the game first and tried to put it out of my mind, but then a few messages came through. It's a great honour to receive recognition or be voted for by a player like that."

Messi has previously gone rogue with his ballots. He voted for both Cubarsi and Yamal last year too, with his other pick going to Desire Doue.

The year before, Alejandro Garnacho joined Cubarsi and Yamal in his top three. Messi also went for Jamal Musiala and Pedri over Jude Bellingham in 2023.

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Maza has drawn comparisons with Florian Wirtz this season and responded humbly when they were put to him, saying: "Flo is an incredible player, a real Bayer Leverkusen legend.

"I am still trying to follow my own path and be my own player. I think we are a little different in terms of our playing styles, but of course, it is nice to be able to follow in the footsteps of such a great player.

"I hope that one day I can play at his level and achieve that." He concluded by saying of the Liverpool player: "Flo is Flo."