Arsenal are reportedly ready to step up their pursuit of a new backup goalkeeper for the upcoming summer transfer window, with Feyenoord’s Justin Bijlow emerging as a serious option for the north London club.
The Netherlands international has impressed in the Eredivisie and was also on Manchester United’s radar last year, though his asking price is now reported to have dropped to just £10million as Arsenal look to firm up their interest in the next few days, according to the Daily Mirror.
Bijlow could be a smart signing on the cheap to help Arsenal replace Aaron Ramsdale, who is likely to leave the Emirates Stadium after falling behind David Raya in the pecking order in Mikel Arteta’s starting XI.
One imagines there’s a chance for the Gunners to cash in on Ramsdale for fairly big money, with Charles Watts telling CaughtOffside that the England international is highly likely to leave, and that rumoured offers of just £15m surely won’t be anywhere near enough.
Bijlow transfer to replace Ramsdale at Arsenal?
Although nothing seems to be decided yet for Ramsdale, it’s hard to imagine him sticking around at Arsenal for much longer after losing his place in the team.
Raya looks to have fully earned his status as the new first choice in Arteta’s side, so it surely makes sense for the club to offload Ramsdale to somewhere where he can play more regularly again, whilst bringing in someone like Bijlow who might be more willing to serve as a backup to Raya.
With Feyenoord set to lose manager Arne Slot to Liverpool, one imagines there could be an opportunity for clubs to poach some of the Dutch club’s players, and that might be why AFC are expected to act on this soon.
The Mirror add that Bijlow was considered by Man Utd last year but his £22m asking price was considered too high at the time, though it’s now more than halved.
