I would keep an eye on Crystal Palace, who were very keen in January”- Ben Jacobs confirms Palace interest in Arsenal striker Eddie Nketiah as he claims Eagles might be looking to return with offer for player this summer after seeing initial interest in January rebuffed
Crystal Palace are looking to reignite interest in Arsenal’s Nketiah, who may become available due to the pursuit of a new striker.
Nketiah, despite being valued by Arsenal, may be sold for around £30 million, generating funds for a new forward.
Crystal Palace were linked with Arsenal centre forward Eddie Nketiah in January and could reignite their interest in the lead-up to the summer transfer window and now, respected journalist Ben Jacobs has told GIVEMESPORT that his Emirates Stadium departure could rely on one factor.
Even though Arteta and his entourage are not blessed with reliable options through the middle, the Englishman is evidently far down in the club’s pecking order, with Kai Havertz recently being the club’s preferred choice.
Having amassed a mere 1,360 minutes of action across all competitions this campaign, Nketiah’s future in north London is looking bleak, especially with his employers in the market for a new striker.
Interest in Nketiah stems from the January transfer window. The London-born ace was subject to interest from Palace, but Arteta was keen to retain his services amid the Gunners’ pursuit of the Premier League title, with the striker being considered an ‘important player’.
Since the mid-season window slammed shut, however, Nketiah has enjoyed just 58 minutes of league action and endured a 15-minute cameo against Porto in the Champions League. Amid his lack of game time, GIVEMESPORT sources have revealed that an array of clubs in England’s top division are keeping tabs on the 24-year-old amid uncertainty over his future in north London.
In terms of an asking price for Nketiah, Jacobs recently told GIVEMESPORT that Arsenal would hold out for a fee around the £30 million mark. And while, in the grand scheme of the market, that is not deemed as a significant outlay, it will be for those in the bottom half of the Premier League standings – Palace included.
Speaking to GIVEMESPORT, Jacobs suggested that Arsenal signing a new striker would allow a much smoother sale of Nketiah, despite him being very committed and a valued member of Arteta’s roster from now until the end of their title-chasing campaign.
Jacobs said: “Well, I think with Arsenal, we know they want a striker and if they get a striker then it opens the door for offers for [Eddie] Nketiah. And even though the player is very committed and liked as a squad player at the moment by Mikel Arteta and could well have an important role to play between now and the end of the season, I think the feeling is if Arsenal bring inthe striker, that Nketiah will be available on the market.
“And I would keep an eye on Crystal Palace,who were very keen in January. But Arsenal and Nketiah didn’t want to proceed mid-season because, again,depth was important to Arsenal. We know that Wolves will be looking as well and if they do sell [Pedro] Neto and/or [Joao] Gomes,then there’ll be money available there for them to spend. Nketiah might be available for £30 or £35 million, which is still a large amount of money, but in the modern market and in an inflated market, that may still be seen as value to one or two clubs.”
