A “big talent” is now keen to join Arsenal as the Gunners open talks to sign him, with Fabrizio Romano claiming an offer has also been made.
Edu wants to sign young, energetic players for Arsenal
As revealed by sporting director Edu earlier this year, a key transfer policy for the club this window is signing young, hungry and passionate players for manager Mikel Arteta.
The Spaniard has his eyes on a third-successive Premier League title challenge, and came very close to winning it last campaign as Arsenal pushed Man City all the way to the final day.
| Arsenal’s top scorers in all competitions last season | |
|---|---|
| Player | Goals |
| Bukayo Saka | 20 |
| Leandro Trossard | 17 |
| Kai Havertz | 14 |
| Martin Odegaard | 11 |
| Gabriel Jesus | 8 |
| BBC Sport | |
Guardiola has set a very high standard for teams competing at the top end of the table, but it is a level which Arteta and co are determined to match as they seek to upgrade the Arsenal squad over these coming weeks.
Arsenal have been in talks to sign Bologna starlet Riccardo Calafiori to bolster their defence, and Edu has been widely tipped to bring in a new forward as well as a new midfielder.
The 22-year-old Calafiori fits into Edu’s mould of an energetic prospective new addition with many years ahead of him, as the Brazilian made an admission on Arsenal’s transfer plans in February.
“I understand what the fans are asking for but we already have our targets,” Edu said on TNT Sports.
“We have planned a lot ahead and I will be worried if we don’t score a lot of goals and if we’re not creating chances, which is the opposite because we create a lot and score a lot of goals. The plan is to try to get better every year and I think we are in a good moment. Let’s see if we can keep improving.
“Many times in certain conversations to recruit the players you don’t see the character of the player or the character of the player does not fit well with what we are trying to do and then you have to move on and try to find what we’re really looking for.
“If you see all the signings we’ve made since we started together, everyone is almost the same, young, energetic and passionate, and good talents with big, beautiful futures ahead of them.”
Setford keen to join Arsenal after talks opened and bid submitted
Romano, taking to X, has shared an update on the “big talent” and his future in Amsterdam as the goalkeeper’s contract expires next year.
He says Arsenal have submitted a bid and opened talks to sign Setford, who himself is keen to make the move to London Colney.
The 18-year-old has been a regular in the Ajax academy but is yet to make an appearance, though scouts clearly see enough potential to warrant a formal move.
