Arsenal striker Eddie Nketiah is a homegrown talent of the club and one of the better strikers in the Premier League, which he proved during a successful spell of starts in the middle of the 2022/23 season after starter Gabriel Jesus suffered an injury.
However, Nketiah isn’t quite up to the Arsenal standard as a pure goal-scorer, and the Gunners already have a couple of well-rounded types at the center forward position in bigger names Jesus and Kai Havertz.
So that has made Nketiah expendable. After selling Emile Smith-Rowe to Fulham for more than 30 million pounds, Arsenal are hoping to get similar value for Nketiah on the transfer market.
But they have been met with roadbloacks. Marseille were interested but unwilling to submit a serious financial offer, possibly because most Ligue 1 clubs besides PSG aren’t in the best financial situation.
Then, fellow Premier League side Nottingham Forest backed out of the race for Nketiah, focusing instead on Feyenoord youngster Santiago Gimenez as their striker target choice.
Despite the missed deals, Arsenal don’t have bleak prospects when it comes to selling Nketiah, because just as quickly as Nottingham Forest have been taken off the table, another notable Premier League suitor has risen to the fore.
According to a report from Fabrizio Romano, Crystal Palace have emerged with interest in Eddie Nketiah, and the 25-year-old striker is interested in joining the Eagles this summer.
Fab says that Arsenal expect to sell Nketiah in these final days before the summer 2024 transfer window officially closes, noting that other clubs in addition to Crystal Palace are interested in the English striker.
Nketiah and Palace are discussing personal terms, and while Nketiah had already agreed on personal terms with Forest before things fell apart, there is optimism that with more suitors available, Arsenal can get the 30 million pounds they are looking for here.
