Ethan Nwaneri could leave Arsenal this summer - but why are the Gunners considering a transfer, and where could he end up?
Arsenal still have a Champions League final to contend with before they start thinking about the summer transfer window, but pretty soon the fate of Europe’s grandest club competition will be decided and the Gunners will have at least one very difficult decision to make: Whether to sell Ethan Nwaneri.
Touted as the brightest star in Arsenal’s academy before he even made his debut for the club at the age of just 15 four years ago, Nwaneri is now returning to the club after a disappointing loan spell at Marseille as the gossip columnists pontificate about his future. Several sides, including Newcastle, Aston Villa and Everton, are said to be keen to sign him – so will Arsenal sell one of their greatest talents?
Could Ethan Nwaneri really leave Arsenal this summer?
Not so long ago, the idea that Arsenal might sell Nwaneri would have been unthinkable – but a combination of his struggles on loan in France, the composition of Arsenal’s squad and the necessity to comply with the Premier League’s new spending rules all make it far more plausible than it might once have been.
Nwaneri scored just minutes into his debut for Marseille, surging towards the edge of the Lens penalty area before cutting inside a weak challenge and sliding the ball flawlessly into the corner of the net. That, however, was about as good as things got.
When Roberto De Zerbi left the club, his replacement – former Newcastle full-back Habib Beye – chose to prioritise more experienced players. Nwaneri has played just 48 minutes of football since the end of March, ending his time on the French coast with nine appearances, just three starts, and two goals.
Having failed to convince Marseille of his qualities, he now faces an uphill battle for minutes back at the Emirates with both Bukayo Saka and Noni Madueke ahead of him. Neither are exactly long in the tooth, and Arsenal may not truly need another right winger (although Nwaneri could end up in a more central role) for years to come. There’s an open question as to whether there’s even space for him in the squad.
Another loan deal would make for an obvious solution – ideally to a club that would actually give him much-needed game time – but BBC Sport reported in April that a permanent transfer was under consideration, with the club looking for opportunities to make some sales to balance the books and ensure that they can comply with the incoming squad cost ratio rules.
Nwaneri, along with Myles Lewis-Skelly, were supposedly both floated as players who could be sold for a substantial profit, with the BBC stating that Arsenal would demand a combined fee of around £100m for the pair. While it’s unclear what percentage of that fee would be Nwaneri’s, it implies that anything up to £50m is considered a ballpark figure.
Whether any of Nwaneri’s supposed suitors would be prepared to pay so much for a player who remains fundamentally unproven remains to be seen. Recent reports have named Newcastle, Aston Villa and Everton as teams who are monitoring the situation, with a new story from TEAMtalk naming all three while throwing Serie A side Como into the mix.
Whether those teams would prefer a permanent deal or a loan is not yet clear, but there are likely to be plenty of teams willing to bet on his talent. But is he worth as much as £50m, and just how much of a gamble would it really be?
Just how good is Nwaneri – and will anyone spend big to sign him?
You don’t have to spend too much time digging into Nwaneri’s tape to find evidence of his abundant talent – but there are lingering question marks, and some sound reasons that Beye refused to play the youngster at Marseille.
While he is a preternaturally brilliant dribbler with superb technique and a lethal shot in his left foot, he has also failed to develop physically and finds himself bullied off the ball too easily at times. Combined with a habit of hanging onto the ball for too long and a failure to make quick decisions, he wasn’t able to make a consistent impact at Marseille even under De Zerbi, and was restricted to flashes of brilliance rather than anything more substantive.
Nwaneri succeeded with just 31% of his attempted dribbles in France and won only a quarter of his one-on-one duels, both worryingly poor statistical markers. When he does find time and space to take a shot or fire in a cross, his quality has been obvious, but he isn’t yet carving out enough of that space for himself. Still just 19, he has plenty of time to develop the necessary skills and strength, but has not done so just yet.
That may dissuade some of the sides interested in his signature from spending too much money, but TEAMtalks’ report suggests that Newcastle, Aston Villa and Everton are all primarily interested in a permanent deal.
With Nwaneri still well-regarded by staff at the Emirates, it’s unlikely that they allow him to leave on the cheap – a bid would likely have to get close to £50m, at least, in order to tip the scales. There will be a lot of soul searching before any of the Premier League sides considering a move make an offer that significant, and perhaps even more at Arsenal’s end were one to be made.
All three Premier League teams will have the money and motivation to make it happen, however. Newcastle are set to get a significant cash injection from the sale of Anthony Gordon and need a new right winger. Aston Villa are looking to strengthen their front line and have Champions League money to spend again, while Everton’s new owners are expected to show considerable ambition in the coming window. The question is whether they feel that there are safer bets to be made elsewhere.
Nwaneri’s future remains firmly up in the air – a player blessed with prodigious but unrealised talent, with plenty of teams keen to take him despite the fact that the details of a deal will be difficult to hash out. One of Arsenal’s brightest young starlets could end up just about anywhere in a few months’ time.
Continue Reading