A round-up of the latest Arsenal news including the latest on the pursuit of Riccardo Calafiori, Chido Obi-Martin’s contract talks, and the plan in place for Reiss Nelson with West Ham interested.
The issue with Riccardo Calafiori’s transfer to Arsenal
Arsenal and the supporters alike are enduring a frustrating delay before the potential deal for Bologna left-back Riccardo Calafiori is completed.
After it was revealed that a financial package for Italian international Calafiori was agreed upon, many expected to see him in an Arsenal shirt in a matter of days if Italian reports were to be believed.
The Gunners will be keen to get this deal done, but there is a stumbling block that sporting director Edu can do very little about, even though the left-back fell in love with the possibility of joining Arsenal.
According to reports in Italy via Football Italia, Bologna are reluctant to part with Calafiori while Basel still hold a 50% sell-on clause for the player. That clause was agreed last summer when the player made the move from the Swiss outfit.
READ MORE: Every player linked to and from Arsenal this summer transfew window
Bologna are hesitant to let this happen. They are now making efforts to negotiate with Basel to reduce the scale of their sell-on clause.
Mikel Arteta will be keen to wrap the Calafiori deal up before the pre-season tour Stateside, so there could be more movement in the coming days.
Read more about the delay preventing Riccardo Calafiori’s transfer to Arsenal here.
Reiss Nelson stance amid West Ham interest
Many exits are being reported from Arsenal this summer and interest is rife in winger Reiss Nelson.
Nelson was one of the brightest prospects to come through the Hale End Academy and is adored by the fanbase after his Emirates Stadium exploits against Bournemouth last year.
We know that the Arsenal board are admirers of Euro 2024 star Nico Williams as a step up from the 24-year-old.
Nelson attracted interest from a lot of sides in the Premier League and beyond, and West Ham are now the front-runners for his signature, and all sides want to resolve his situation quickly.
Arsenal Insider exclusively understands that both Nelson and Arsenal want his uncertain future to be resolved before he has to travel with Arsenal to their pre-season tour in the USA.
They are keen to allow Nelson to leave and would be willing to let him miss the tour if he were to be able to finalise a move with Crystal Palace, Fulham and Brentford also circling without making an offer yet.
The West Ham faithful conjured a divided response about the potential signing of Nelson.
Read more on Reiss Nelson’s Arsenal stance on his future here.
Arsenal ‘remain vulnerable’ in Obi-Martin contract talks
A sudden rise to stardom for Chido Obi-Martin must have been a whirlwind for the striker and it is clear that Arsenal have been put in a difficult position by it.
The youth prospect broke an all-time Arsenal Academy scoring record as he struck an astonishing 32 goals in 18 under-18 Premier League games.
Bayern Munich are among the clubs reportedly interested in him with his contract situation proving a subject of much debate. Mikel Arteta has made an effort to tie the teenager down to a new contract, but there is an issue with those negotiations.
That leaves a possibility of the striker leaving for free this summer.
In his Caught Offside piece, journalist Charles Watts revealed that Arsenal have been in talks with the striker over a new deal, but cannot tie him down before December when he turns 17.
“A first professional contract is on the table for Chido Obi Martin that could be signed the moment he turns 17. But he is not 17 until December and so Arsenal remain vulnerable to the in-demand striker leaving before then,” Watts said.
Read more on Chido Obi-Martin’s future amid Bayern links here.
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