Arsenal look set to end their nine-year association with their 38-goal striker, as they agree on an Eddie Nketiah Crystal Palace transfer fee.
Nketiah has been expected to leave Emirates Stadium all summer. He has been close to moving to Nottingham Forest and Marseille and had links to the likes of West Ham, Wolves, and Bournemouth.
According to David Ornstein, Palace are close to agreeing a deal worth £25m in guaranteed fees, with £5m in achievable add-ons.
Contents
Why do Crystal Palace want Nketiah?
After a testing start to the season, in which they have lost back-to-back London derbies to West Ham and Brentford, Palace have decided to reenter the transfer market.
The 25-year-old is a long-term target of the south London outfit, and was close to a move a few years ago.
Nketiah has never been Arsenal’s first-choice striker, but still boasts an impressive goalscoring record. Across his Arsenal career, he has averaged 0.48 goals per 90 minutes, as well as 0.1 assists per 90.
The striker is an instinctive player in the box – of his 19 Premier League goals, only one has come from outside the penalty area. He is superb at finding pockets of space and getting shots off in the trickiest of situations.
Nketiah is a superb athlete too, quick, strong and with a good leap. He is an intense and intelligent presser of the ball too, and has nabbed several goals by sneaking in and stealing the ball from defenders and goalkeepers.
Eddie Nketiah Crystal Palace transfer fee: Is it a good deal?
As David Ornstein reported, the £30m deal seems good for all parties. Crystal Palace gets a Premier League-proven striker to rival Jean-Phillipe Mateta, who will need some rest after his Olympic exploits.
For Nketiah, he gets to be a star somewhere, finally become a regular starter, and play in a setup that suits his qualities better than at Arsenal.
And for Arsenal, they get a very good fee for a player who, despite years of good service, has not actually started a game for them since 2023. Nketiah’s profile simply did not match the Gunners’ needs at striker in the end, with the more ‘false nine’-like players such as Kai Havertz, Gabriel Jesus and even Leandro Trossard preferred to the Englishman.
The icing on the cake for the Gunners is that Nketiah’s fee can be banked as pure profit, as he is an academy product.
How will Arsenal replace Nketiah?
Nketiah’s impending departure frees up both funds, and space in the squad, for Arsenal to invest in their front three.
The Gunners are eyeing a number of targets, from a direct number nine replacement to a wide player, whose arrival could see Leandro Trossard pick up more minutes as a central striker. For the latest on their transfer movements, check out our Arsenal transfer targets page.
