Arsenal transfer news: Wilfried Zaha bids far from Crystal Palace valuation, Tierney, Ceballos, Soares latest

Arsenal and Crystal Palace are still some way apart on Zaha's valuation

Wednesday 17 July 2019 12:08

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Transfer deadline day summer 2019: The deals done so far

Arsenal are still some way short of matching Crystal Palace’s valuation of Wilfried Zaha.

The Gunners had a £40m bid rejected by the club for the forward with Palace said to be holding out for something closer to £80m.

Palace face a battle to keep hold of their talisman after he revealed at the end of last season that he wants to play in European competitions.

Zaha’s brother also put pressure on the club by revealing it is the Palace academy players’ dream to play for Arsenal.

Following Palace’s 6-2 defeat against Barnet, Roy Hodgson revealed the clubs are still some way apart in their valuation of the forward.

Transfer verdict 2019: Stay or go?

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1/12Transfer verdict 2019: Stay or go?

Jack Pitt-Brook runs down the biggest transfer sagas awaiting us this summer and whether they will actually happen or not

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This has been the worst season in years for the best goalkeeper in the world. He struggled at the World Cup then his form declined over the end of a difficult season. Now he wants a pay-rise to get parity with Alexis Sanchez. United have not offered him that, but De Gea knows that PSG would give him the money that he wants. Juventus are interested too. He has one year left and so if United cannot make him an acceptable offer then his long association with the club could be about to end. Verdict: 50/50

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Always linked with a move to a top club, and this summer Zaha is keen to make that big step again. But having been rewarded with new long-term contracts from Crystal Palace in the past to ward off interest, his club have the upper hand over his future. So while there are plenty of clubs - like Arsenal - who might like Zaha if he was available for £40m, there is less appetite to pay the £80m it would cost to get him out of Selhurst Park. And with four years left on his deal there, Zaha is unlikely to get the move that he wants. Verdict: stay

Action Images via Reuters

One of the great unanswered questions of the Unai Emery era has been the role of Mesut Ozil. Arsenal’s best paid and most famous player has been pushed out to the fringes this season, with Emery only appreciating in games where he will not have to do too much physical work. Over the season he started just 20 of Arsenal’s 38 league games. The problem is the ludicrous contract he was given in January 2018, a decision that Arsene Wenger soon came to regret and that has hamstrung Emery too. It means there are no takers for him, and he has no interest to leave. Verdict: stay

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Pep Guardiola’s first signing at Manchester City finished the season in the best form of his time at the club, instrumental in City’s 14-game winning streak that secured them the title. But his future is not clear. He only has one year left on his contract and has dragged his heels on signing a new one, knowing that at 28 years old this could be the last big contract of his career. Guardiola said at Wembley on Saturday night that if he does not sign then he will be sold, with Barcelona interested in signing him. There will need to be a breakthrough in negotiations to keep him at the club. Verdict: 50/50

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Like Pogba, a man United were delighted to sign but who has not quite delivered on that promise during his time at Old Trafford. Like Ozil, a player who has proven difficult to move because of the contract he negotiated 18 months ago. Sanchez earns more than £500,000 per week and not many other clubs want to pay that. Only now from Inter Milan is there serious interest, with talks now open on a move, with Untied keen to write off a badly-judged investment. Verdict: go

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It was only Maddison’s first season in the Premier League but he created more chances than anyone, finishing up with over 100, split evenly between set pieces and open play. He has played with the same confidence and ability he showed all the way through his young career so far, at Coventry City, Aberdeen and Norwich City. The only question is what next. Manchester City, Liverpool and Spurs have been following Maddison his whole career but he has always put football first. And while that interest is still there, he is not expected to leave Leicester yet. Especially given the recent arrival of Brendan Rodgers. Verdict: stay

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For most of this year the presumption at Spurs was that this would be Christian Eriksen’s last season. Because he had one year left on his deal and was not signing a new one. Real Madrid would be his destination and Spurs were already lining up replacements. But there have been plenty of changes at Madrid recently, with Zinedine Zidane coming in and changing their transfer plans. Now the transfer is less certain and there are is even talk of fresh transfer negotiations. His departure is not inevitable yet. Verdict: 50/50

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With Vincent Kompany off to Anderlecht, and Nicolas Otamendi likely to leave too, Manchester City want a new centre-back. According to the Mail, they have identified Leicester’s Harry Maguire. He knows the league and would also help them with their home-grown quota for their Champions League squad. But as a 26-year-old England international at an established Premier League side, he is not going to be cheap. Verdict: go

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Manchester United made Sancho their top transfer target for this summer and were willing to pay £100million to get the teenager out of Borussia Dortmund. But that move will now not be happening, Sancho and his advisers having decided that Old Trafford would not be the right environment for his development. While a move is still theoretically possible - if PSG or Real Madrid pay the asking price - it is far more likely that the 19-year-old Sancho will stay at Dortmund for another season of development now. Verdict: stay

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It speaks volumes to Mauricio Pochettino’s motivational powers that he has got such a good season out of Alderweireld when it looked last summer as if player and club were set to part ways. Alderweireld wanted a move to Manchester United last summer but there was never an agreement on price so he had to stay. Spurs have taken the option in his contract, which means he will be available this summer to any team who pays £25million for him. This will surely be the point when his four-year spell at the club ends, with one of the richer teams likely to see him as a perfect short-term defensive solution. Verdict: go

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When Zinedine Zidane return to the Real Madrid’s manager’s job he made Paul Pogba a priority and now it depends on how much Madrid want to back him. Pogba himself is interested in a move to Madrid, and has been for years. And while Pogba’s form did improve after Jose Mourinho’s departure at Christmas, there is also a view at Old Trafford that they would be better off without a player who is so inconsistent, and who some view as a negative dressing room influence. United would still need to recoup most of the £89m fee for him to sell, however. Verdict: 50/50

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“I don't think Arsenal have actually made a bid that has come anywhere near our valuation,” the Palace manager told Sky Sports.

“I'm sure the player realises that if someone's going to take him away from us, he'll expect clubs to pay the market value.

“Until someone does that, there's not much to discuss regarding Wilf.”

Arsenal are very keen to sign Wilfried Zaha

(The Independent)

Arsenal were also handed a blow to their chances of signing Kieran Tierney from Celtic when boss Neil Lennon said the Scottish champions will not let go of the left-back for a cheap price.

Lennon pointed to the £50m that United spent to sign 21-year-old Aaron Wan-Bissaka from Palace as a mark of where the current market is.

Celtic rejected Arsenal’s second offer in the region of £25m for the Celtic defender and Lennon said the club are in a strong position. "The club's valuation of Kieran has not been met and until then we don't have a discussion."

Unai Emery is desperate to add to his playing squad and provided some positive news on Arsenal’s pursuit of Real Madrid midfielder Dani Ceballos. “I don’t want to speak about the names but Ceballos is a very good player,” he said.

"We are being very, very demanding and we are first speaking about the possibility to sign very big, very expensive players."

Arsenal are in a difficult position this transfer window after Josh Kronke admitted the club were working with a “Europa League transfer budget with a Champions League wage budget.”

Everton Soares remains a target if the club fail to bring Zaha to The Emirates and an Arsenal medic was sent to monitor the Gremio forward.

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