Arsenal are ready to double Justin Kluivert’s wages with the Roma winger offered a four-year contract worth an annual £3 million at the Emirates, according to reports from Calciomercato today.
While Mikel Arteta, Raul Sanllehi and Edu Gaspar appear to be operating with one hand tied behind their back in the transfer market, do not make the mistake in assuming that reports linking a Dutch international with the Emirates are well wide of the mark.
Kluivert far more affordable than you might assume for a cash-strapped Arsenal side. After all, there is a very real chance that he could be heading to north London for a fraction of his £35 million price-tag.
As Calciomercato point out, Arsenal could let the wantaway Armenian Henrikh Mkhitaryan join Roma on a permanent basis as part of the deal that would see Kluivert go in the other direction.
If all parties can reach an agreement on a potential player-plus-cash deal, that would see the former Ajax wonderkid’s valuation drop to around £18 million.
What’s more, Kluivert is hardly one of the best-paid footballers in Italy.
He takes home less than £30,000-a-week at the Stadio Olimpico. And, even if Arsenal are willing to double his wages, he still wouldn’t come anywhere near some of the biggest earners at the Emirates, including Mesut Ozil and David Luiz.
Calciomercato adds that Kluivert, the son of Dutch legend Patrick, has been offered a deal that would keep him at the Emirates until 2024.
Whether Roma are willing to part with a 21-year-old who was enjoying a fine season before the global health crisis emerged remains to be seen, however.
“His father was a great player, a great striker. Justin has what it takes to be as good as him,” coach Paulo Fonseca tells Publico.
“He’s one of the young players that Roma are counting on for the future.”
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