‘Important proposal’ – Romano drops Arsenal striker update

Robin Bairner

• 20 Dec 2023 10:53 GMT
• 5 min read

Fabrizio Romano has revealed the latest over Arsenal’s January transfer plans, in particular focusing on Mikel Arteta’s plans for the attack.

FootballTransfers has revealed that Arsenal are chasing potentially two new signings at centre forward, with the Emirates club stepping up talks with Santos' Marcos Leonardo while they are also prioritising a move for Juventus forward Dusan Vlahovic.

Romano, meanwhile, claims that the Gunners will not be drawn into a panicked move to bolster their forward line as they are currently “very happy” with the performances of Eddie Nketiah.

The football transfer news expert states on The Daily Briefing: “There is speculation again about Eddie Nketiah’s future at Arsenal. Interest has always been there from five or six Premier League clubs and I’m told also Bundesliga clubs - it’s normal as Eddie is a very good striker.

“But Arsenal are still happy with Nketiah, there are currently no concrete or advanced negotiations, I think it could only change with a very important proposal, but at this stage, Arsenal are not desperate to sell Nketiah.”

Arsenal willing to sell Nketiah under one condition

FootballTransfers understands that Arsenal are willing to sacrifice Nketiah in January – but only to sign a player who represents a significant upgrade to the squad.

Nketiah’s returns for Mikel Arteta’s side this season has been impressive, with six goals and three assists coming across 20 appearances in the Premier League and Champions League that only total 953 minutes.

Crystal Palace have expressed an interest in signing the 24-year-old, whose Estimated Transfer Value (ETV) has grown to €17 million off the back of his strong start to the season.

Arsenal need to sell if they are to buy another major player, though, and academy graduate Nketiah is the player who has been earmarked for an exit if that calibre of transfer target becomes available during January.