With the World Cup final taking place on Sunday and pre-season training officially beginning at London Colney the following day, Arsenal’s summer transfer plans are starting to come into sharper focus.
The Gunners have already added two senior players, making Piero Hincapie’s move from Bayer Leverkusen permanent before bringing in Illan Meslier on a free transfer to bolster the goalkeeping department.
With Leandro Trossard’s switch to Besiktas now complete, the arrival of Club Brugge winger Christos Tzolis is expected to be confirmed next week before sporting director Andrea Berta turns his attention to the bigger-ticket additions still on the wishlist.
According to several reports over the last 24 hours, Arsenal are stepping up their interest in Aston Villa pair Morgan Rogers and Ezri Konsa. Both have been linked with the club for some time, but it now appears the Gunners are beginning to test Villa’s resolve at a time when the Midlands club remain under financial pressure.
Champions League qualification and growing commercial revenues have strengthened Villa’s position, but they were still found to have breached UEFA’s Squad Cost Rules last year. While the latest sanctions acknowledged progress, they also made clear there is still work to do before Villa fall comfortably within the required limits. As a result, player sales are expected to remain part of their strategy this summer.
Whether that extends to Rogers or Konsa, who has two years remaining on his contract, remains to be seen. Villa have already sold Youri Tielemans to Manchester United, while Lucas Digne is expected to join Paris Saint-Germain. They also have other valuable assets, including Emi Martinez and Ollie Watkins, although Unai Emery is simultaneously trying to strengthen his squad with moves for Freiburg’s Johan Manzambi, Wolves midfielder Joao Gomes and Bayern Munich’s Joao Palhinha.
Arsenal’s interest in Konsa is understandable given the uncertainty surrounding William Saliba. Reports in France suggest the defender has been playing with a fractured back for months and could require surgery that would keep him sidelined for four to five months.
Even without Saliba’s situation, there is an argument for adding another defender. Ben White, Jurrien Timber and Riccardo Calafiori all endured injury-hit campaigns last season. While Arsenal have plenty of versatility across the back line, including Cristhian Mosquera, another reliable option would hardly go amiss. Interestingly, former Gunner Dinos Mavropanos, currently on West Ham’s books, is among the names to be linked.
Midfield remains another area to watch. Arsenal’s interest in Bruno Guimaraes has generated plenty of headlines in recent weeks, with reports claiming the Brazilian would welcome a move to the Emirates. Whether formal negotiations have actually begun is less clear. Newcastle have shown little appetite to sell their captain and, even if they were willing to listen, there is likely to be a sizeable gap between Arsenal’s valuation and the fee the Magpies would demand.
Meanwhile, the pursuit of Julian Alvarez continues to bubble away in the background. Atletico Madrid remain reluctant to sell, particularly to domestic rivals Real Madrid or Barcelona, both of whom have explored a move this summer. Whether that eventually creates an opening for Arsenal is one to keep an eye on.
Elsewhere, Bradley Barcola, Ayyoub Bouaddi, Alex Scott and Eli Junior Kroupi continue to feature prominently in the rumour mill, although there has been little to suggest any of those deals are close.
At academy level, it appears Elijah Upson has signed professional terms after leaving Sp*rs at the end of his contract. Arsenal have also persuaded Emerson Nwaneri, Ethan’s younger brother, to remain at Hale End. Whether that has any bearing on Ethan’s long-term future remains to be seen. After spending the second half of last season on loan at Marseille, he returns to north London with plenty of uncertainty surrounding his next move.
Yesterday, The Telegraph added another name to the scouting list, reporting Arsenal are monitoring Cardiff teenager Axel Donczew, who became the Bluebirds’ youngest-ever first-team player last season.
As for outgoings, things are relatively quiet. Gabriel Jesus has been linked with AC Milan, but Arsenal’s valuation is understood to be higher than the Serie A side are prepared to pay. Hamburg find themselves in a similar position over Fabio Vieira. They like the Portuguese midfielder, but are reluctant to trigger the purchase option included in his loan deal.
Elsewhere, the Daily Mail claim Crystal Palace are considering a move for Christian Norgaard, while Reiss Nelson faces an important summer after an injury-hit loan spell at Brentford left him short of suitors.
So, plenty to keep an eye on over the next week or two. We’ll bring you the developments as they happen. Fingers crossed all those “confirmation” stories we’ve prepped make it out of the drafts folder.