Arsenal have been linked with a move for Brighton and Hove Albion striker Evan Ferguson but Fabrizio Romano isn’t convinced.
Fabrizio Romano believes any rumours linking Evan Ferguson with a 2024 move to Arsenal are ‘out of the picture’ right now.
Eyebrows were raised when Football Transfers reported on Monday that Arsenal are already plotting to sign Ferguson next summer.
It was suggested that Brighton want around £100million for Ferguson, a price tag which has put Tottenham off as things stand.
That report suggested that Arsenal are ‘most likely’ to move for Ferguson and are plotting to bid for him not this month but next summer.
The Irishman has shown enormous potential for Brighton, scoring six times in just 19 Premier League games last season.
Ferguson, 18, has been hailed as ‘special’ by Jamie Carragher and many are backing him for a huge future.
Arsenal may well be interested but Fabrizio Romano has now moved to calm those rumours.
Fabrizio Romano comments on Evan Ferguson to Arsenal rumours
Romano has been speaking on the Here We Go podcast and was asked about the Ferguson to Arsenal speculation.
The Italian suggested that, whilst he respects all journalists and their reporting, he thinks rumours about the 2024 summer window are ‘completely out of the picture’.
Romano highlighted that nobody could have expected so many big names to move to Saudi Arabia even a few months ago, never mind a year ago.
Romano also noted that Arsenal already have strikers they believe in with Gabriel Jesus and Eddie Nketiah at the club.
Lining up a deal for Ferguson just isn’t something that Romano believes is in the pipeline as things can change so quickly in football, especially for a top talent like Ferguson.
“Let me explain something guys, on this one… I also saw this rumour, many of you are sending me this and I respect all the people publishing their news and their information,” said Romano. “For me, to mention the next transfer window is completely out of the picture.”
“Imagine if someone told you in February – not three years or one year ago or two years ago – if someone told you Neymar, Mitrovic, Benzema, N’Golo Kante, Sadio Mane, Cristiano Ronaldo and all these names would be playing for Al Itthad, Al Ahli, Al Nassr and all the others, maybe a lot of you are saying ‘you are crazy’. Imagine if you asked me in February ‘Fabrizio, where are these players going?’, I was never going to say Mahrez, Mane, Milinkovic-Savic, Ruben Neves, Neymar and all the others ‘they are going to Saudi’ – I was never going to say that because it was not that concrete.”
“That’s mentioning something from four months ago, not four years – four months! It means that, in football, one year is like 10 years in normal life. Your normal job is different and is difficult in the normal job of all people in the world to change that much in a couple of months – in football, it can happen. In football, everything can change immediately.”
“To mention, today, during the summer window of 2023, in the final days of the window, with Arsenal having Gabriel Jesus – star, Eddie Nketiah – doing very well, extended his contract a couple of months ago and trusted by Mikel Arteta, Edu and all the people in the club, Flo Balogun – who is already there, of course he will be sold but he is already there. The third striker at Arsenal is Flo Balogun – a very important player.”
“Telling you that, today, in August 2023, Arsenal want to sign Evan Ferguson for summer 2024, for me, is fantasy because it’s not something you can predict today, in my opinion. I respect all the pieces of information but today, to mention this, is completely out of the picture,” he added.
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