Rabiot may be free, i.e. Arsenal won't have to pay a transfer fee, but he's going to want a substantial signing fee and a big contract. Arsenal would almost certainly see the signing fee as a defacto transfer fee. That said, I don't think Arsenal will be his first choice and I don't think they will commit the money required to satisfy his signing fee and contract demands.
You may very well be right. Fornals can play in the #8 role as well. He doesn't defend as well as Rabiot but definitely better than Xhaka. Still think that would be a pretty strong setup either way. Don't think it will happen. Least likely would be Brandt (think a German team or Liverpool would be a bigger draw for him) or Manolas (I think we go after cheaper targets). But that could leave us enough cash for Marcus Llorente whom could fill the #6/8 role nicely.
I tend to agree but if you look at history on a number of players TransferMarkt is historically low on their market value vs the actual fee paid.
I think that depends a lot on on the motivations of each club. You have a motivated buyer and an unwilling seller, that player is going to go for over market value. If the club is desperate to sell, they will get less than market value. Ox sold for way over market, Coq and Theo went for slightly over, Gibbs, Giroud, Gabriel and Perez went for under. As for potential sales: Elneny - Under. Pretty obvious Emery isn't a fan and they will be willing sellers Chambers - Over. Just gave him a new contract. Should be able to find a PL buyer Ospina - Under. Arsenal want to sell him. Value is so low it doesn't really matter. Nacho - Under. I don't think they want to sell but won't fight it either if he wants to return to Spain. Also based on age. Miki - Under? I think his wages complicate things even though he still plays a lot Mustafi - Under. As often as Emery picks him, you could make an argument that they aren't desperate to sell. But it is hard to imagine a motivated buyer. Laca - Over. Obviously
Just binned a bunch of posts arguing about which club is racist and which isn't. Start a different thread if you guys want to have that discussion. Let's keep this one about transfers (real or imagined) to or from Arsenal.
Agreed. Apologies to everyone. Just found his argument off but I will inbox him and leave you guys out of it. COYG
You're free to start an entire thread about racism in football or whatever title you want to use. Or you can keep it to PMs. Just didn't want you to think I'd bin a specific thread on the topic, because I won't. But I'd prefer this thread be limited to Arsenal-related transfer news.
Back to the rumors... With Griezmann headed out the door, there is now rumor that Atletico are interested in replacing him with Lacazette. More stories of Zidane's interest in PAE. It's said that Real is prepared to pay approx 75m GBP to get him.
Atletico is also rumored to be interested in Cavani & Maxi Gomez so it may be nothing with Laca. Reading some stuff about Real... There is a ton of speculation that Zidane doesn't rate Llorente or Ceballos. Both had some really good games this season when given a chance and both are still young (24 & 21). If they truly are willing to pay 75m for Auba, I can't help but wonder if we could get then to sell us those 2 for a portion of that. We could then go after a scoring winger with pace and use Laca as a lone ST. A MF of Torreira, Llorente & Ceballos could be salty behind Laca, Iwobi and Thauvin(???).
Likely garbage but there is a rumor on reddit that turned down a 1m GBP/wk deal in China. Same thread also claiming that Steve Bould will leave this summer.
Simeone has ruled out Atletico pursuing "glamorous names" to replace Griezmann. Says they will be looking for a promising prospect like they did when they originally signed Antoine. Makes me think that Maxi Gomez may be the top option based on other rumors. Laca staying is looking better and better.
Because Ramsey just left for Juventus... news coming out that Allegri will not be coaching Juventus next season. I heard rumor several months ago that Pep was aware of some possible sanctions coming for City and that he had agreed to join Juventus. Wonder if those rumors are now coming to fruition?
Journos have spotted Unai at an Atletico game. There is a great deal of speculation that he was there to scout Thomas Partey. Partey's agent has been looking for a team where he could possibly start and has confirmed that there is a 50m euro (43m GBP) release clause.
I'm not a big fan of Iwobi. He seems immature in different ways (emotionally, skills, football judgment/IQ, etc). If he's ever going to be "good enough" for our XI, I don't see it happening next year. Thus, the idea of loaning him. But if that wasn't an option, and you put a gun to my head and said "keep him or sell him", I'd choose the latter without too much hesitation.
When I look at Arsenal's roster I see a lack of quality in what should be a key group, players in the prime of their careers. For purposes of this post I have identified them as players between the ages of 25 and 28. Arsenal have 10 players, including loan players 24 and younger, 6 players 29 and older (who will almost certainly be retired by the time Arsenal are ready to compete for the league title again), and seven players between the ages of 25 and 28. This last group includes, Lacazette, Mustafi, Kolasinac, Jenkinson, Xhaka, Elneny, and Leno. Of the field players in this group, the only one I'm completely comfortable with is Lacazette, Mustafi, Jenkinson, and Elneny are almost certainly gone and Xhaka and Kolasinac have holes in their games. Looking at this distribution, I think Arsenal need to add one or two quality players in 25 to 28 age range, that will be able to provide leadership when the younger players approach their prime. I will also be extremely disappointed if they add players to the older group.