Arsenal
Premier League • England
Arsenal to gazump Liverpool as Edu engineers outrageous swap with London rivals and Italy icon hails second deal ‘outstanding’
Arsenal sporting director Edu would love to bring Marc Guehi to Arsenal this summer
Arsenal are strongly considering gazumping Liverpool in the race for Crystal Palace defender Marc Guehi this summer, with Edu said to be a huge fan and with the Gunners ready to use one of two players in a lucrative swap deal.
Guehi proved an absolute rock in the heart of the England defence as the Three Lions made it all the way to the 2024 European Championship finals, only to fall at the last hurdle for the second time in succession, this time going down to a 2-1 defeat to Spain. And while Gareth Southgate has since departed as manager, the Crystal Palace man will feel confident that he can continue playing a leading role for the national team for a good number of years to come.
Still only 24, there is a feeling that Guehi can continue to improve and make a further mockery of Chelsea’s decision to sell him for just £18m in July 2021.
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His game has come on leaps and bounds at Selhurst Park and he is now regarded as one of the best centre-halves in the Premier League, leading to speculation that Liverpool, Manchester United and Real Madrid had scouts making regular checks on him at the Euros.
Indeed, sources have confirmed to TEAMtalk that Liverpool are very much on the 17-times capped England international’s trail and have a ‘confidence’ that a deal worth around £65m can be done to bring the player to Anfield.
Guehi, for his part, while keen on the move, will not push for the transfer due to the respect he has for Palace, instead continuing to go aboout his business in a professional manner in the hope that a deal can be agreed behind the scenes.
Arsenal could offer two stars in swap deal for Guehi
However, multiple reports in the British press claim Arsenal are also very much ready to throw their hat into the ring for Guehi’s services and offer the Palace star the chance to remain in London.
And with the Gunners seemingly ready to piece together a package worth £70m, sporting director Edu – who is the man leading the interest in Guehi – could look to gazump Liverpool to the player’s signature.
To that end, it’s reported that the Gunners are ready to make an approach to Eagles counterparts with the offer of striker Eddie Nketiah – valued at £40m and who TEAMtalk can confirm Arsenal are open to selling this summer – in part exchange for Guehi.
Nketiah scored just six times in 37 appearances in all competitions in the season just gone and his lack of potency in front of goal is a major reason behind Arsenal’s quest to sign a more prolific replacement this summer.
And with Palace among a queue of clubs all reportedly interested in his services, Edu can feel some optimism that a potential swap deal could come off.
Were Palace to reject Nketiah as part of any deal, Arsenal do have another card up their sleeves with Eagles boss Oliver Glasner also exploring a potential deal for Gunners playmaker Emile Smith Rowe.
The 23-year-old has had limited game time under Arteta, appearing just 19 times in the season just gone and has already been the subject of a £35m approach from Fulham.
And while sources have confirmed Mikel Arteta remains a huge fan of his services and would ideally like to keep him, he could yet be used as a makeweight if it persuades Palace to part with Guehi.
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Any deal for Guehi would give the Gunners serious options in the heart of defence. Gabriel Magalhaes and William Saliba are well established as their first-choice centre-halves, but Ben White and Jurrien Timber are both capable of playing there too.
The Gunners are also rapidly accelerating towards the signing of Riccardo Calafiori, who is set to finalise his move to Emirates Stadium in the coming days after a long process of negotiations.
Per Fabrizio Romano, Arsenal will pay Bologna €40m for Calafiori, as well as €5m in add-ons. That equates to around £33.7m at first and £37.9m as a full package, though a big sell-on clause will be included as part of the deal for the 22-year-old defender, who can cover both centre-half and left-back.
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With that move finally due to close, the transfer has been given a major thumbs up by Italy legend Leonardo Bonucci who feels Arsenal will be landing a major star for club and country for years to come.
Juventus had also been on his trail before Arsenal out-muscled them and Bonucci told Sky Italia: “Calafiori? I’m sorry about his transfer. I would have liked to see him at Juventus.
“He’s a defender who’s a little different to what we’re used to seeing. He plays, has personality and fits in.
“We’re exporting a great player who will be a point of reference for the national team for the next 15 years.”
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