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Nketiah could be among Arsenal exits this summer
There’s a concrete possibility for a number of players to leave Arsenal this summer. For example, Cedric Soares will be leaving on a free as his contract is expiring, that’s already decided. Others to watch could be someone like Eddie Nketiah – I think there’s a concrete possibility that he could move on, and he’s always had plenty of interest from clubs in the Premier League and the Bundesliga.
In the past, we’ve seen interest from West Ham, Crystal Palace and Borussia Monchengladbach, now let’s see if any teams will make a proposal this summer, but for sure it’s a possibility for Nketiah to make way as Arsenal are looking for a potential new addition up front, while they also have Gabriel Jesus, as well as Kai Havertz and Leandro Trossard who can also play there.
Thomas Partey could be another name to watch. Arsenal are really happy with him when he’s on the pitch, but we know this has been a difficult season for him with injuries, and his contract is going to expire in summer 2025, so they will have to make a decision together. Nothing has been decided yet, but they will discuss the situation at the end of the season.
Going back to Arsenal’s striker plans, I’ve had fans asking me about Santiago Gimenez, who has been linked with a number of top clubs, but I’m not aware of any advanced discussions with Arsenal. There are many clubs interested in him after his fine form in the Eredivisie, but I’m not aware of any contacts with Arsenal.
Still, with Arne Slot leaving Feyenoord to become Liverpool manager, there is a concrete chance for Gimenez to leave as well this summer. He wants to look for opportunities, and of course we know Arsenal are looking for attacking players, but I’m not aware of this being anything concrete just yet.
What I can say for Gimenez is that the asking price will be something like €40-45m, so let’s see how much Arsenal decide they want to invest in that position. They might decide to go for a bigger investment like Viktor Gyokeres, who is appreciated by Arsenal, or we’ll see if they prefer a cheaper option like Gimenez.
Salah’s Liverpool future and why it’s going to be Slot over Amorim
We’re continuing to see a lot of stories into the situation at Liverpool, and I wanted to start by providing an update of my current understanding of the Mohamed Salah situation, following reports yesterday that the feeling now is that he will not be leaving Liverpool this summer.
I’m told there will be talks closer to the end of the season between Salah and Liverpool to discuss that. Liverpool want to keep Salah and continue with him also under Arne Slot, that’s why we have strong rumours; it’s clear that they want to continue, Michael Edwards is big fan of the player.
With Slot, the latest is that Liverpool and Feyenoord have signed all documents for the Dutch manager’s imminent move to replace Jurgen Klopp at Anfield. It will still take some time for the official club statement, planned between clubs for this week, but the deal is all done and sealed.
At one point, it looked like Ruben Amorim was the frontrunner for the Liverpool job, but it was never a done deal, never something agreed. Liverpool spoke to Amorim’s camp, they had contact as Liverpool were informed of release clauses and details of his contract at Sporting, but he was just one of the candidates, never a done deal, never a verbal agreement, never the chosen one. It was a conversation and there was interest, that’s it.
Still, Amorim would love to work in the Premier League. He’s still hoping for that solution, I’m told. Amorim will decide his future in the next weeks but he’s surely hoping for a job in the Premier League, despite Liverpool and West Ham talks collapsing.
Finally, as some fans have asked again about Trent Alexander-Arnold, I’m afraid I have no update in this moment – as I said weeks ago Real Madrid are following the situation but nothing else in terms of talks or contact so far. Let’s see what Liverpool will now do to keep a crucial player for them, a top player.
West Ham eyeing new manager candidates
I think there is a 90% chance to see David Moyes leaving West Ham at the end of the season. This is the feeling. Then we have to wait for the formal steps and the formal meetings at the end of the season. But the intention internally looks very clear – West Ham are looking at candidates, so I see David Moyes leaving the club at the end of the season.
In terms of Moyes’ replacement, they have multiple candidates at West Ham. We know they had a meeting with Amorim last Monday, but…there is no agreement at all it’s really far and it’s not going to happen. Then let’s see what’s going to happen with other candidates for example Hansi Flick could be a possibility…for example Paulo Fonseca, who is doing an excellent job at Lille.
We’ve also had rumours about Julen Lopetegui but his priority is AC Milan, so as long as he’s in the race to become new Milan manager Lopetegui will wait for that opportunity. so let’s see what’s going to happen there but for sure West Ham are already in a process to appoint a new manager and I think this is more than likely for the summer.
In other news…
Marcus Rashford – From what I heard, Manchester United have not informed Rashford of anything yet, despite some reports that he could be allowed to leave for a substantial proposal this summer. The internal discussion is about keeping Rashford and trusting him; only big, big proposals could change the situation. In my opinion, a player like Rashford is always important especially in a new project like Man United’s one.
Xavi Simons – Despite links with Chelsea, Paris Saint-Germain will decide on Xavi Simons’ future at the end of the season, conversations will take place in the next weeks. Nothing is concrete at this stage, I’m told; Leipzig told PSG that they’d love to keep Xavi on loan for one more year, but it’s up to PSG now and I’m told the player will also be involved in the decision.
Leroy Sane – The new manager of Bayern could be key for Leroy Sane’s future. At the moment they had a discussion to present him the project, but still not a financial proposal because they want to wait for the new manager to tell the player what’s going to be the plan with him. Ralf Rangnick is the favourite to become the new manager, and Sane is basically waiting to see what happens with that, and it’s the same with Joshua Kimmich.