Arsenal chiefs hope to have £50m signing fully agreed before summer

Arsenal chiefs hope to have their first signing of the summer window fully sealed before it even opens, following a lacklustre January window where Mikel Arteta could not get his desired transfer targets through the door.

Arsenal end January with no new striker

Despite their widely reported attempt to sign Aston Villa star Ollie Watkins, the Gunners ended January with no new striker – much to the bemusement of supporters who were keen to see their side bring in an alternative to Kai Havertz.

Arsenal’s bid for Watkins turned out to be around £40 million, and reliable journalist David Ornstein revealed earlier this week that Villa would’ve been prepared to do business if they reached the £60 million mark, which will come as frustrating to on-lookers.

“Villa gave Arsenal the opportunity to do this deal or have a conversation on the basis of a £60 million possibility,” said Ornstein, via The Athletic’s podcast on YouTube.

“That was something clearly Arsenal were not prepared to do at that value for a 29-year-old, who in their eyes is probably not worth that much. They decided to suggest around the £40m mark. Villa were being serious when they suggested £60 million because that’s where they value him and if they need to make the numbers work, with PSR and whatever else.

“That’s what they would have been prepared to have a conversation for. We don’t know if it would have led to an offer being accepted, but the door was clearly opened at that level and Arsenal weren’t prepared to go there.”

Arteta’s side were also believed to be in very advanced talks over a pre-summer move for Real Sociedad star Martin Zubimendi.

The Mail first broke news that Arsenal were closing in on a deal for Zubimendi, with reliable media sources like Fabrizio Romano backing this news with an update of his own.

However, since then, there have been barely any new updates, until now.

Arsenal hope to have Martin Zubimendi deal agreed before summer

According to The Athletic, the Spain international remains high on Arsenal’s agenda for later this year, with both Jorginho and Thomas Partey entering the final few months of their Emirates Stadium contracts.

The reliable news outlet reports that Arsenal are hopeful of agreeing a deal for Zubimendi before the summer transfer window opens, which would be the value of his release clause at around £50 million.

They’ve apparently laid the groundwork to seal a pre-window agreement for the 26-year-old, who is a boyhood Sociedad fan, and the presence of a release clause in his deal must mean that the hold up has been on Zubimendi’s side.

In any case, Arsenal supporters will be thankful to hear this potential transfer is still in the works.