Arsenal have rejected a £25million bid from Nottingham Forest for Eddie Nketiah.
Nketiah is free to leave the Gunners this summer, having made just 10 starts last season. In fact, the striker has not started a match in any competition during 2024, with Gabriel Jesus and Kai Havertz ahead of him in the pecking order.
It looked as if the England international would be joining Marseille in this window after he agreed personal terms with the French side. But Roberto De Zerbi’s men refused to match the Gunners’ £30m valuation.
Nketiah has notched 38 goals in 168 games for Arsenal and still has three years remaining on his contract. But Forest are now redoubling their efforts to sign the striker as Nuno Espirito Santo bids to improve his attacking options.
According to The Athletic, Forest’s opening bid of £25m including add-ons was rejected by the Gunners. But negotiations between the two rivals is continuing, with Forest also in talks with Nketiah’s representatives.
The East Midlands side have made the striker their top target for the final 10 days of the window. But they will have to up their offer, with the Gunners holding out for a fee in the region of £30m-£35m.
While Forest are also considering a move for Feyenoord’s Santiago Gimenez, Nketiah is their priority and they are said to be determined to secure his signature. Boss Nuno Espirito Santo seems him as the perfect fit for his squad.
Crystal Palace are also interested in Nketiah, though Forest’s move is more progressed. The 25-year-old was an unused substitute in the win over Wolves on Saturday, with boss Mikel Arteta hinting before the game that he is ready to let him leave the Emirates.
“The market is open so things can happen, so that’s always a possibility. We have great strikers already. We have a great attacking line,” Arteta said when asked about Nketiah’s future.
“I said after last season that we had two objectives, the main one and the most important one is to make sure that we are still very much in love with our players and find ways to improve them, and that is the main thing.
“Then if there are certain opportunities in the market, to improve the squad – certainly we have to look at that. That’s what we will be trying to do. We are really excited. We’ve been missing the competition for many weeks, it’s too long for us.
“We had a really challenging pre-season but we have managed to adapt and it was a great challenge for everyone to adapt with different groups, different stadiums, different conditions. We took it as an opportunity and a good challenge and the team has looked really sharp.”
