Arsenal remain in the race to buy Espanyol keeper Joan Garcia before the transfer window shuts, according to Relevo reporter Matteo Moretto.
Writing on his X account (translated from Spanish), Moretto revealed that the Gunners have already had two bids turned down by Espanyol but they haven’t given up despite lining up a loan deal for Bournemouth’s Neto:
“Espanyol continues to demand [from] Arsenal €30M clause for Joan Garcia. Today the English club has submitted two offers but both have been rejected. The negotiation is not over yet.”
“Arsenal are considering whether to go for it again, but have meanwhile reached a verbal agreement for Bournemouth’s Neto.”
A deal for Neto looks more likely
You can’t see Arsenal spending the best part of £25m on a backup goalkeeper so you would expect that a move for Neto will be finalised before the deadline tonight.
Multiple reports suggest that the Brazilian will have a medical today so there will be no last-minute dash to secure his signature if the Garcia deal does fall through.
How many signings will Arsenal make on deadline day?
At the moment, it does look like a goalkeeper will be the only one arriving at the Emirates. There has been a lot of talk of a winger being signed but, at the time of writing, nothing seems concrete.
Enquiries have been made for Bayern Munich’s Kingsley Coman but his £300,000 a week wages is a big issue. The Frenchman is likely to make the switch to Saudi Arabia if no other offer arrives.
Rumours of a move for Chelsea’s Raheem Sterling have also emerged, but there are question marks about whether the deal is being pushed by the player and his agent. He does have a strong relationship with manager Mikel Arteta, though, which could help facilitate the transfer.
