Last I saw, they are still offering under 30m euro. Lens paid 30m for him last summer. Would be insane for them to sell him at a loss after 1 yr. Edit.... Typed that before seeing the deal is done. 25+5 still seems like an incredibly stupid deal by Lens. Why sell at a break even after 1 yr? 🚨🔵⚪️ Olympique Marseille are closing in on Eyle Wahi deal with RC Lens!Agreement very close, OM working on final details… they didn’t want to match €30m package for Nketiah.Green light from the player and €25m fee plus add-ons offered to Lens, as @FabriceHawkins reports. pic.twitter.com/xgIxHC8nmM— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) August 12, 2024
Lens dropped out of UCL into the EL and need cash? Bournemouth have targeted a Brazilian striker to replace Solanke. Nketiah didn't play vs Lyon so I still assume he's off.
🚨🍒 Bournemouth have added Eddie Nketiah to their list of options to replace Dom Solanke.Initial talks took place after bid rejected today by FC Porto for Evanilson.OM deal for Nketiah, completely off after they signed Wahi. pic.twitter.com/YZx2fLLDoP— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) August 12, 2024
Time will tell if Edu negotiated correctly with Marseilles. They wouldn't meet our ask, so we have to find another buyer for Eddie. 18 days to make that happen. Could turn out that an EPL club can easily afford Eddie at our ask price, or we could be stuck with him and rue not doing the deal with OM. Time will tell.
I've seen Joao Pedro mentioned. Believe he would qualify as homegrown. Brighton would not sell cheap.
I see a Gabriel Jesus replacement, complete forward who doesn't finish well. A lot of his goals come from the spot. Maybe if Jesus left for Saudi Arabia - he was rumored to be on their list with Richarlison who rejected a move - Pedro would be the replacement.
Ornstein reports that Arsenal rejected a loan offer for Ramsdale from Ajax, looking for a permanent move.
It can't take 2 weeks to work out the details of a fee structure. Arsenal are probably only going to sign one midfielder, Merino is currently on that list, but if they sign him now it rules out other options. He isn't going anywhere else, he will either join Arsenal or stay in San Sebastian. There is no urgency on Arsenal's part to get a deal done before deadline day. So Edu is slow-playing him, seeing if a better option presents itself. 🚨🔴⚪️ More on Mikel Merino deal.Arsenal and Real Sociedad have been in contact for weeks, formal bid part of the process after long verbal talks over deal structure.Similar to Calafiori story, clubs negotiating best solution.Merino wants Arsenal, contract 100% agreed. pic.twitter.com/LkfDr1kRjE— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) August 14, 2024
The downside of this approach is that if you’re counting on him to play meaningful minutes, you’ve given up the preseason time to integrate him.
That’s the feeling I’ve been getting about the Merino transfer dragging on for so long. But if they have another target they have done a very good job of keeping it under the radar. They could be waiting on sales to help fund a more expensive target (Guimaraes.) or they could be waiting on a big deal that frees up another player, e.g. Madrid are stacked in midfield would adding a new midfielder free up one of their players.
He went to the final, I doubt we are talking about significant preseason time anyway. PSR is showing real teeth got to let the market England can't just be got on the margins anymore.
I'm also wondering if any of the Merino delays are due to RS trying to find/secure his replacement before the season starts. Zubimendi may have been a piece of that, but I can imagine RS have had to run through a lot of scenarios trying to sort midfield the last few weeks.
Edu actually sucks at his job. He buys the players Arteta tells him to and that’s it. This loser has sold one of the, like, six players we needed to sell this summer, only one of whom was on international duty in that time
None of it. If anybody can tell me definitively what Edu has done, fine, I’ll accept it. But the last three years we’ve signed either the players Arteta/Cana tells him to sign, Portuguese speakers of some variety, or players from the PL. No value-add from Edu in any of these buckets except for Portuguese-speakers which is essentially just Fabio
According to Ornstein, Arsenal need to sell before they buy Merino. Others have said that based on the known financials, the club should not be restricted by PSR/FFP. So having said that, KSE would be totally justified in my mind telling Arteta/Edu if they want to buy a 28yo who will likely have zero resale value for 30-35m, they need to sell some players first. Arteta bought Partey (who was a year younger than Merino is now), and Edu and Arteta gave new contracts to Nketiah and Nelson and Ramsdale.
Mostly seeing Newcastle rumors. His FbRef per90 numbers are actually pretty good as well as his WhoScored match ratings. That said, Chelsea fans seem to hate him and I can't imagine he would be reasonably priced considering they paid 35m and he has another 6 yrs on his deal.