New Delhi: Crystal Palace are about to wrap up their fifth transfer of the summer window with a move for Arsenal forward Eddie Nketiah. The Eagles have agreed a fee in the region of £30 million with the North London side, with £25 million being paid upfront and £5 million being paid in add-ons. The striker has been linked with a move away from the Emirates Stadium throughout the summer and now finally seems to be on his way out.
The Englishman has been at Arsenal since 2015, making his way up from the Arsenal academy to the first-team and has represented the Gunners a total of 168 times, scoring 38 goals in the process. The club failed to get the best out of him despite the forward showing glimpses of his potential in his limited chances at the club. Last season, he made 27 appearances for Arsenal in the Premier League but only 10 of them were starts and he scored four of his five league goals in those 10 starts.
His numbers for Arsenal have been pretty decent and consistent over the last few seasons keeping the minutes he played in mind. He scored 10 goals for the Gunners in the 2021/22 season and 9 in the 2022/23 season, playing on average 48 minutes a game in both those seasons. This summer it finally feels that his patience has run thin and he’s looked to secure a move away from the North London side.
🚨🔴🔵 Eddie Nketiah to Crystal Palace, here we go! Deal in place between clubs for £25m fixed fee plus £5m add-ons.
Nketiah already accepted to join #CPFC two days ago and he’s now set to complete medical tests.
Permanent move as Arsenal wanted, green light arrived. pic.twitter.com/sF64SndvL5
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) August 27, 2024
Nketiah has already had two deals that fell through in this window and he’ll be hoping that the third time’s the charm for him. He was in talks to sign for French giants Olympique Marseille and had agreed personal terms with Roberto De Zerbi’s side but they couldn’t reach an agreement with Arsenal over a transfer fee. He was then set to join Premier League side Nottingham Forest after both clubs reached an agreement over the fee but Forest couldn’t agree personal terms with the player which resulted in the move being collapsed.
With both Arsenal and Crystal Palace now having agreed to the £30 million transfer fee which the Gunners wanted, the move should be completed within the next hours as Nketiah has already agreed on personal terms with Palace and the move is subject to the completion of a medical. His £100k-a-week wages that he’s on at Arsenal will make him amongst the top earners at Crystal Palace with only Dean Henderson, Eberechi Eze, and new signing Daichi Kamada earning more than a £100k a week.
Oliver Glassner has had a busy first transfer window as Crystal Palace boss as he’s brought in the likes of Kamada, Chadi Riad, Ismaila Sarr, and Louie Moulden, while also overseeing the sale of Michael Olise, Joachim Andersen, and Jordan Ayew. Their transfer window doesn’t seem to end at Nketiah though, as they could also see star centre-back Marc Guehi leave before this week’s deadline day.
Guehi’s exit could see them make a move to sign a replacement for the defender and the club are currently exploring their options. Chelsea’s Trevoh Chalobah, Arsenal’s Jakub Kiwior, and Wolfsburg’s Maxence Lacroix are being lined up as potential Marc Geuhi replacements if his move to Newcastle United goes through before the transfer window comes to a close.
The Arsenal academy product is looking to complete a switch across London after failing to hold a place in the Gunners’ first team despite impressing in cameos. Football Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
