According to The Sun, Crystal Palace have made Eddie Nketiah their No.1 target for the summer, although Mikel Arteta wants him at Arsenal.
What’s the story?
Well, the 22-year-old’s contract expires in June, and he seemed destined for the exit door – it was said that he wanted to leave in search of regular first-team football.
However, Crystal Palace may struggle to land Nketiah now, after he stepped up in the absence of Alexandre Lacazette.
The England Under-21 international scored twice in a 4-2 victory over Chelsea on April 20th, and proceeded to deliver impressive displays in wins against Manchester United and West Ham.
As a result, Arteta is going to make one last attempt to keep the Arsenal No.30 at the Emirates Stadium.
Nevertheless, Patrick Vieira still wants Nketiah at Selhurst Park, having already made two attempts to sign him since replacing Roy Hodgson.
The south Londoners saw a £12m bid rejected back in the summer, and sent another offer to Arsenal in the January transfer window.
So far this season, Nketiah has scored seven goals in 24 appearances, while also providing one assist.
Eddie Nketiah must leave Arsenal for Crystal Palace
In our view, Nketiah would be a fool to reject the south Londoners – the foundations are there for him to explode at Selhurst Park.
The Londoner is clearly a bright prospect, who has never really been given a run in the first-team at Arsenal.
However, with Vieira in charge – a manager who is evidently desperate to sign him – and creative teammates such as Ebere Eze and Michael Olise, Nketiah would surely score plenty of goals.
For the Hale End Academy graduate, the prospect of spearheading a young side containing the likes of Tyrick Mitchell and Marc Guéhi – as well as the aforementioned duo – is surely a tempting prospect.
Keep an eye on this saga, as we certainly wouldn’t be surprised to see Nketiah swap north London for south London this summer.
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