Arsenal are considering whether to offer Eddie Nketiah in part exchange for Crystal Palace’s Marc Guehi, according to The Daily Star (via The Express).
The England international is valued at around £70m and the Gunners are said to be considering ways to lower the price by including players, such as Nketiah, in the deal.
Guehi does have other suitors, which may complicate negotiations if Mikel Arteta’s side do decide to hold talks with Palace.
The Daily Star claim that both Liverpool and Manchester United had scouts watching the 24-year-old playing for England at the European Championships over the past month.
Arsenal are set to sign another centre-back
The main reason why this transfer seems very unlikely to happen is because the Gunners look poised to wrap up a deal for another central defender.
An agreement is now in place with Bologna for Riccardo Calafiori, which would see Arsenal pay €40m (£34m) upfront and another €5m (£4,2m) in add-ons. Some additional talks need to be held with the player’s previous club FC Basel before the deal can finally go ahead but it looks like the Italian international will be plying his trade at the Emirates next season.
It’s possible that discussions about Guehi were held when it looked like a deal for Calafiori was faltering but you can’t see the London club pushing ahead with further negotiations now.
Nketiah is keen on moving elsewhere
Another factor to take into account is the fact that Marseille have begun negotiations to sign Eddie Nketiah. The striker is said to be keen on a switch to France, making it very implausible that he would be used in a swap deal with Guehi.
At the moment, no transfer fee has been agreed with Marseille but there is optimism that an agreement will be found over the coming days.
