Arsenal and by extension sporting director Edu Gaspar have replied to an elite European side, who've made their first move for a £120,000-per-week player in Mikel Arteta's squad.
Players who could still leave Arsenal before deadline day
Summer deadline day is just over two weeks away, giving Arsenal precious little time to bring in more key new additions, whilst also trimming Arteta's squad of unwanted players.
Arsenal in contact for Merino alternative who Man Utd failed to sign for £15m
The Gunners have been engaged in lengthy talks.
ByEmilio GalantiniAug 14, 2024
Arsenal remain locked in talks over a deal for Real Sociedad midfielder Mikel Merino, and failing that, have reportedly contacted the representative of France international free agent Adrien Rabiot as an alternative (La Gazzetta dello Sport).
In terms of outgoings, the likes of Mohamed Elneny, Cedric Soares, Nuno Tavares, Albert Sambi Lokonga and Emile Smith Rowe stand out as their biggest-name senior exits. The latter comes as their latest confirmed departure after sealing a £35 million switch to Fulham around a fortnight ago, which is a club-record fee for Marco Silva's side.
Appearances
115
Goals
18
Assists
13
Yellow cards
2
Red cards
0
Minutes played
5,846
Eyes will now be on who could join Smith Rowe out of the Emirates Stadium exit door. It looked likely to be striker Eddie Nketiah for a time, but Ligue 1 giants Marseille pulled out of a move for the Englishman after deeming his valuation too high.
After losing his status as Arsenal's goalkeeping number one to David Raya last season, England international shot-stopper Aaron Ramsdale has been heavily linked with an exit all window.
Ajax make loan move for Aaron Ramsdale as Arsenal reply
According to The Athletic, a prestigious suitor in Dutch giants Ajax have now registered their serious interest in signing the £120,000-per-week ace.
Their information states that Ajax have made an approach to sign Ramsdale on loan from Arsenal, but the Gunners have snubbed their opening advances, with Arteta's side instead holding out for a permanent sale.
While the European heavyweights have been rejected thus far, it is believed they're still optimistic and confident of getting it done.
"It’s a matter of when Ramsdale leaves, not if," said reliable journalist Charles Watts on Ramsdale's future this summer.
“The key thing for Arsenal is getting value for money. I saw an initial fee of £15 million mentioned in reports last week and that is quite frankly ridiculous. Arsenal signed Ramsdale for nearly £30m two years ago and he has developed into a far better keeper since then.
“He’s still young, he’s homegrown, an established England international and has a long-term contract. Yes, interested clubs will know that Arsenal’s stance in any negotiations will be weakened somewhat given he is now clearly behind David Raya in the pecking order, but that shouldn’t mean the club should basically give him away."
