Arsenal are stepping up their interest in Chelsea winger Noni Madueke, according to reports.
Journalist Simon Phillips, who has sources close to the Blues, says the Gunners are “expected to make an offer soon” for the 23-year-old.
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While Madueke is not up for sale, he is not deemed indispensable by head coach Enzo Maresca, and his club need to raise funds to make additional signings so there is a strong possibility he could be offloaded following the conclusion of the Club World Cup.
They would be amenable to an approach from Arsenal, while Phillips says the player himself is “willing to listen” to proposals from other teams if they arrive.
There will be competition for Madueke
Newcastle have been on the lookout for a right winger for quite some time. However, their attempts to buy Bryan Mbeumo from Brentford have ended in failure, with Manchester United favourites to snap up the Cameroon international.
Eddie Howe’s side have been looking at alternatives, with West Ham’s Mohammed Kudus also under consideration, but Madueke is said to be another player on their list of targets.
How much would Arsenal need to pay?
It has been suggested that Madueke could be sold for around £50m. That would certainly make him a lot cheaper than Real Madrid’s Rodrygo who could cost as much as €90m (£77m).
A move for Athletic Bilbao’s Nico Williams has also been considered but the Spanish international has his heart set on a move to Barcelona.
Ironically, a Newcastle player, Anthony Gordon, is also on Mikel Arteta’s shortlist but, again, the cost of signing the winger could prove prohibitive. He only signed a new long-term contract back in October.
Of course, many will point out that Madueke is not exactly what Arsenal are looking for, considering he is a left-footed right winger, but he has been regularly deployed on the left in recent months, and that positional flexibility is likely to have made him a more attractive option, in addition to his price.
In other news, David Ornstein has confirmed that Arsenal want to bring in a Crystal Palace player as part of 3 new additions up front