Arsenal warned there’s ‘no way’ they’d be able to sell unsettled talent for £20m

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Legendary former Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand has shared his verdict on the market value of Arsenal winger Reiss Nelson.

Reiss Nelson is unsettled at Arsenal.

The 24-year-old Hale End academy graduate has made it clear that he wants more game time, as reported by The Standard. Nelson was on the fringes of Mikel Arteta’s squad last season, making just 18 appearances for the north London club across all competitions, as injuries restricted his opportunities even further.

Nelson had the opportunity to leave the Emirates Stadium as a free agent in the recent summer transfer window. However, in July 2023, he penned a new long-term deal with the club, having been on the books at Arsenal since he was eight-years-old.

With these fresh terms agreed, Nelson may well have expected to play a more important role in the squad this time around. Whilst he will not have expected to become a regular starter, with the likes of Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli ahead of him in the pecking order, he has still found opportunities frustratingly hard to come by.

So far this season, Nelson has been afforded nine Premier League outings, all from the bench, and amounting to just 100 minutes’ worth of top flight football, with more than half of the campaign now gone by. Arteta has been urged to make greater use of the talented attacker, but to no avail.

Should Arsenal let Reiss Nelson go?

Nelson may well be tempted to push for an exit this month for the chance to prove his worth and play on a regular basis elsewhere. He certainly has the talent to shine if given regularly opportunities.

Arsenal, too, may be open to offers on the player. The club only have a limited transfer budget available to them as things stand. Selling Nelson could be a convenient way for the Gunners to boost their coffers.

There would likely be plenty of interest in Nelson from clubs lower down in the Premier League table. However, Rio Ferdinand does not believe that the Gunners will be able to attract a huge fee for the player.

Speaking on FIVE, the former centre-back shared his opinion on Nelson’s worth, saying, “£15 million maybe. No way £20 million. [Anthony] Elanga, how much did he go for? We’re talking about levels here. Elanga plays for Sweden as well by the way. Elanga’s done more at Premier League level than Reiss Nelson.”

Arsenal likely wouldn’t get a huge fee in exchange for Nelson. However, the market is so volatile these days that accurately predicting any player’s sale price is a tricky business.

That being said, in this writer’s option, it would be a mistake for Arsenal to sell Nelson this month anyway, certainly whilst the squad still lacks a natural back up option for Saka.