Report: Arsenal player’s deadline-day exit collapsed due to £100k-a-week wages

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Sead Kolasinac’s £100,000-a-week wages were the major reason the Arsenal defender saw a deadline-day move to Bayer Leverkusen collapse, according to BILD.

While the final day of the transfer window began with plenty of promise and lofty expectations at the Bay Arena, it’s fair to say there was a nagging feeling of ‘what might have been’ when the clock struck 11pm.

Not only did Leverkusen fail to rubber stamp a deal for Werder Bremen winger Milot Rashica, one of the most influential attacking talents in German football, they also missed out on a former Schalke star.

Kolasinac was on the verge of returning to the Bundesliga after three years away but, once the deadline passed, remained an Arsenal player – at least until January.

And amid all the quizzical head-scratching, BILD has offered an explanation why a deal that looked all but done collapsed at literally the eleventh hour.

The German newspaper says Kolasinac proved to be far too expensive. His £100,000-a-week wages, combined with a £9 million transfer fee, meant Leverkusen were forced to walk away from the table (Goal).

“These are economically difficult times for us too,” says sporting director Rudi Voller.

This, in truth, speaks volumes about the financial uncertainty gripping even the biggest clubs in Germany.

Leverkusen, despite bringing in almost £100 million via the sales of Kai Havertz and Kevin Volland, found themselves unable to reinvest that money into Peter Bosz’s squad.