- EXCLUSIVE from Graeme Bailey
Arsenal will make Eddie Nketiah available for transfer this summer but Premier League rivals West Ham United, Crystal Palace, Fulham and AFC Bournemouth would need to part with £40 million to sign the striker.
HITC understands that Arsenal are ready to cash in on the academy graduate. And, after making £34 million via the sale of fellow centre-forward Folarin Balogun to French giants Monaco back in 2023, The Gunners will hold out for more for Nketiah.
There is interest in the England international from Bournemouth, as well as a trio of London clubs. Fulham, West Ham and Crystal Palace are all in the market for a new number nine this summer.
It remains to be seen, however, what effect Arsenal’s asking price will have on Nketiah’s suitors. Mikel Arteta’s title challengers want the bidding to start at £40 million. That, then, would require a club-record investment from Palace, Fulham and Bournemouth.
And Nketiah, due to his homegrown status, would count as ‘pure profit’ for Arsenal.
Arsenal will listen to offers for Eddie Nketiah
Nketiah, the one-time Leeds United loanee, made his first-team debut for Arsenal all the way back in the 2017/18 season. And though he has accumulated over 150 appearances in that time, he remains something of a back-up option at the Emirates Stadium.
Despite missing Gabriel Jesus for much of the campaign, Nketiah has started only ten matches in 2023/24 with Arteta preferring to utilise Kai Havertz through the middle.
Nketiah’s goals-per-starts ratio remains impressive, however. He has five goals league this term and mustered four in nine starts last year, including a brace in that dramatic 3-2 victory over Manchester United.
“Obviously, it’s not easy. Not only for me but for Eddie as well,” Jesus tells Beanyman Sports of a man who has spent much of the last few weeks alongside him on the Arsenal bench.
“Eddie, if you see the way he works, it’s unbelievable. (But) Kai is amazing, having amazing games, scoring, helping a lot. So that is the price you have to pay to be in a huge club and you have to fight to play.”
Interest from West Ham and Crystal Palace
Crystal Palace are reportedly long-time admirers of Nketiah, the all-time record goalscorer for England’s Under 21 side. Jean-Philippe Mateta lead the line excellently in Sunday’s shock 1-0 win at Liverpool but he remains more profligate than prolific. West Ham, meanwhile, remain reliant on the 34-year-old Michail Antonio.
And though Rodrigo Muniz may be the Premier League’s reigning Player of the Month, the Fulham sensation is still unproven over a long spell in England’s top flight.
HITC, meanwhile, understands that Arsneal are looking at a number of strikers who would reprsent an upgrade on Nketiah at the Emirates Stadium. The Gunners have looked at Newcastle United’s Alexander Isak, Juventus’ Dusan Vlahovic and Brentford contract-rebel Ivan Toney.
We also reported in March that Arsenal are stepping up their interest in Sporting Lisbon talisman Viktor Gyokeres.