Arsenal transfer news latest: Malcolm, Dani Ceballos, Wilfried Zaha, Calum Chambers, Carl Jenkinson, Mohamed Elneny
Unai Emery wants a summer overhaul but faces financial limitations
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Arsenal have two candidates lined up if their bid for Wilfried Zaha fails, according to reports on Thursday. The Gunners’ initial bid of £40m for Zaha was rejected by his club Crystal Palace, who want as much as double that for their star player, and they have identified either Real Madrid’s Dani Ceballos or Barcelona’s Malcolm to fill the void.
Ceballos has impressed recently at the European U21 Championships for Spain and is understood to be keen for a move away from the Bernabeu to find regular football. Spurs are said to be at the front of the queue for a potential loan deal but Arsenal are hopeful they can beat their north London rivals to the player with a late move, according to Marca.
The Gunners are also planning to spoil Everton’s best-laid plans with an approach for Barca’s 22-year-old winger Malcolm. Everton have made a bid of around £31m and are confident of closing out a deal in the coming days, according to the Sun, but Arsenal believe they can still intervene with a structured deal of payments over several years.
Barcelona are keen to sell in order to raise funds for the signings of Antoine Griezmann and Neymar, and while the Gunners cannot afford to make a big initial layout, a staggered deal could still be persuasive.
Arsenal are in line to secure one signature though, with William Saliba is on his way to England to seal a move to Arsenal. Goal report the Gunners have agreed a £26.5m deal with St Etienne that will see the 18-year-old stay in France for the season on loan.
This way, with Arsenal paying a small initial fee, Emery keeps the vast majority of his budget for other targets while also tying down Saliba.
Arsenal are one of a number of clubs who have enquired about the availability of Southampton’s Mario Lemina. Saints paid an initial £15.6m to sign the Gabon international from Juventus two years ago and want to recoup most of that back.
The Gunners are interested according to the Press Association with Manchester United and Leicester City also said to be keen. Lemina has not been included in Southampton’s 26-man squad for their pre-season training camp in Austria with a move away now likely.
Krystian Bielik is being targeted by a host of Championship clubs, according to The Telegraph. Derby, West Brom, Middlesbrough and Brentford are all targeting the versatile 21-year-old, who can play in both midfield and defence.
Bielik starred on loan with Charlton last season, however, Emery has made it clear the player is not in his plans. AC Milan are also believed to be interested, however, Arsenal want the player to sign a new contract and send him out on loan.
Kieran Tierney remains a very real option for Arsenal this summer but should they not get a deal over the line they’ve been offered an alternative. The Express claim that the Gunners have been offered the chance to sign Ricardo Rodriguez from AC Milan.
The Swiss international doesn’t feature in new boss Marco Giampaolo’s plans with a deal apparently there to be done around £14m. That would represent a much cheaper option than Tierney with Celtic holding out for closer to £25m for the Scottish international.
The Gunners are still pressing ahead with a move for Real Madrid’s Lucas Vazquez, however, again their budget is holding up any potential deal. It had been reported earlier this week that Arsenal were the clear frontrunners in the race for the Spaniard’s signature.
Defender Shkodran Mustafi may finally be on his way out too after the Germany international removed all mention of the club from his Instagram profile. Mustafi is not part of Unai Emery’s long-term future at Arsenal after falling behind Sokratis and Laurent Koscielny at centre-back, and he even started the campaign behind young English defender Rob Holding before his season-ending knee injury.
The club are open to selling Mustafi this summer, and the 27-year-old has dropped the biggest hint yet that he is on his way out by removing all mention of the club from his Instagram account. Not only has Mustafi changed the profile picture of him in an Arsenal kit, but he has also removed “Arsenal player” from his bio, triggering speculation that a summer exit will be announced imminently.
Frenkie de Jong has poured tears onto Arsenal hearts by claiming that he had hoped to join the club en route to signing for Barcelona and follow in the footsteps of his idol and Ajax director Marc Overmars.
Speaking to Voetbal International , he said: “In my mind I have had the following list for a long time: Ajax-Arsenal-Barcelona, call it the Marc Overmars route. But then again, if you can go directly to Barcelona then you are right where you want to be. Faster than you ever dared to dream.”
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