Arsenal handed Eberechi Eze transfer twist as £65m agreement reached after huge breakthrough

Arsenal may have just seen their hopes of signing Eberechi Eze dashed by a huge Liverpool transfer decision. Contact was made with the Crystal Palace star's representatives at the start of July, with an interest maintained while other signings were completed.

In the last three-and-a-half weeks, Kepa Arrizabalaga, Martin Zubimendi, Christian Norgaard, Noni Madueke, Cristhian Mosquera and Viktor Gyokeres have all been confirmed as new signings.

With six additions made and up to nearly £200million committed as a result, sanctioning exits has to become the priority of Andrea Berta. Unfortunately, Arsenal saw their most sellable assets depart last summer, with Eddie Nketiah joining Crystal Palace and Emile Smith Rowe moving to Fulham for a combined £52million initially.

There are some fringe players, such as Oleksandr Zinchenko, Fabio Vieira and Gabriel Jesus, that have retained some value and could therefore be sold with that money reinvested. However, it will likely require a big name to be sold, such as Gabriel Martinelli.

The Brazil international struggled for consistent goal contributions last season and failed to step up in periods when Bukayo Saka and Kai Havertz were missing with injury.

An upgrade in that position of the pitch, while not a priority, could soon be looked at, especially with Leandro Trossard set to turn 31 during the 2025/26 campaign. Links to Bayern Munich subsequently arrived for Martinelli, with the German club in search of a new left-sided winger.

Liverpool's Luis Diaz was their top choice, but a sizeable opening bid being turned down suggested he was more likely to stay at Anfield despite his desire to leave Liverpool and join Bayern.

His stance remained the same, however, and as such, the Bundesliga champions increased their proposal, and a full agreement has now been reached at £65.5million (€70m). A move to Bavaria for Martinelli is now undoubtedly off the table, and thus Arsenal's best chance of securing funds from a marquee sale is also no longer on the cards.

As such, plans to sign Eze could be heavily impacted, with the Gunners possibly struggling to afford his £67.5million release clause. Sanctioning marquee sales could still be enough, but a big sale may yet still be possible through a different player.

Following on from his stellar displays at the back end of last season, Jakub Kiwior has likely increased his market value, with links over a return to Italy present since he joined the Gunners back in January 2023.

Story Saved

You can find this story in  My Bookmarks.Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right.