According to Sky Sports reporter Dharmesh Sheth, Crystal Palace have submitted a second bid for Aston Villa and Newcastle target Eddie Nketiah.
What’s the story?
Well, the 22-year-old’s contract with Arsenal expires in June, and he could leave the Gunners before Monday’s transfer deadline.
Unfortunately for Patrick Vieira, Arsenal have rejected the offer, presumably due to a lack of options in the centre-forward department.
It comes after The Telegraph claimed that Newcastle were in talks to sign Nketiah, with negotiations progressing well.
Elsewhere, The Athletic believe Aston Villa have discussed bringing the England Under-21 international to the Midlands.
So far this season, Nketiah has played just 51 minutes of football in the Premier League.
However, Mikel Arteta won’t want to reduce his striking options even more.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has been banished from first-team duties following a disciplinary breach in December, whereas Alexandre Lacazette is struggling for goals and also becomes a free agent in June.
Crystal Palace, Newcastle or Aston Villa could get a bargain
In our view, one of the Premier League trio is going to get a bargain if they can convince Arsenal to sell Nketiah before Monday’s deadline.
With just six months left on his contract, the London-born forward is available for a cut-price fee, which could end up being seriously shrewd business.
After all, Nketiah is a goalscorer, and it feels like he hasn’t shown the Premier League what he can do yet, due to a lack of opportunities.
The Arsenal No.30 is the all-time top scorer for England at Under-21 level with 16 goals in 17 appearances, beating Alan Shearer’s record.
Simply put, the £45,000-a-week man could explode into life away from Arsenal, who have never really given him an extended run in the starting XI.
Keep your eyes on this saga, as a lot could happen between now and Monday’s transfer deadline.
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