Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal wanted to sign Emmanuel Dennis from Club Brugge before the striker joined Premier League newcomers Watford for a cut-price £3.4 million, the Nigeria international’s agent said via CompleteSports.
Is Emmanuel Dennis this season’s most inspired bargain signing?
Demarai Gray might have a thing or two to say about that of course but, for less than £4 million, Watford appear to have snapped up a forward who could be the difference between survival and an immediate return to the Championship.
Dennis has six goals and five assists in just 14 Premier League games thus far.
He tore Manchester United’s backline apart like wet tissue paper in November, ran Leicester City ragged and struck fear into the heart of Thomas Tuchel’s usually irrepressible Chelsea side a couple of weeks ago too.
You can certainly see why some of the division’s big hitters were keen before he put pen to paper with the Vicarage Road outfit.
Could Arsenal return for Watford’s Emmanuel Dennis?
“Arsenal were interested in the past,” says Dennis’ agent, Drew Uyi. “Manchester United were also interested, but for Club Brugge (asking for a) ridiculous fee (the move might have happened).
“They wanted £25 million, while these clubs were prepared to pay £15 million. In the end, he joined Watford for £3.4 million because his contract was running out.”
Dennis shot to fame with two goals away to Real Madrid in the 2019/20 Champions League group stages, before netting a glorious lob against Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s Man United side a few months later.
There was a time in which Dennis was linked with what felt like every club in the Premier League.
West Brom made an approach of their own during the summer of 2020, with the one-time Cologne loanee admitting that he was offered ‘crazy’ wages at the Hawthorns.
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