Arsenal to make £40m sale to fund new striker: report
James BAOUCH
Arsenal have reportedly set a £40 million price tag for striker Eddie Nketiah as they look to raise funds to buy a new elite centre-forward.
The Gunners have previously drawn up a 10-man striker shortlist as they look to add a top-tier forward following a campaign where Nketiah and Gabriel Jesus are their only recognised conventional centre-forwards.
While sporting director Edu works on bringing in a new face to bolster Mikel Arteta’s options up front, the club know they will have to raise money in order to help fund the deal.
Arsenal striker Eddie Nketiah (Image credit: Getty Images)
According to Teamtalk, Arsenal are demanding £40million for England striker Nketiah, with as many as six clubs already interested in signing the 24-year-old.
Brentford, Crystal Palace, Fulham, Leicester City, West Ham and Wolves have all been linked, with Arsenal knowing that Nketiah’s status as a homegrown player means that all proceeds from a sale will go down as profit on the club’s accounts.
One of the names on Edu’s shortlist is Sporting forward Viktor Gyokeres with Portuguese outlet Jornal de Noticias claiming that the Gunners are ‘preparing to submit a formal proposal’ to land the former Coventry City man.
Viktor Gyokeres is being lined up by Arsenal (Image credit: Getty Images)
The Swede, who has netted 36 goals and served up 16 assists in 44 games this season, has a reported €100million release clause.
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In FourFourTwo’s view, Nketiah’s status as a homegrown player makes him an obvious candidate to be sold, as the full fee will go down as a profit in the club’s accounts.
It would, however, be something of a shame if several academy products across the Premier League are to be used as sacrificial accounting lambs this summer (Connor Gallagher at Chelsea being another potential example), in order to placate profit and sustainability rules.
