Foot & Soccer Soccer Match Reports, Football News
Morning, a few bits a bobs going on this morning.
First, there’s more on Emile Smith Rowe with Crystal Palace reportedly ‘preparing’ a bid of up to £35m (including bonuses) for the midfielder. However, the same report says Arsenal will reject the offer, with Mikel Arteta keen to keep the player. I don’t know quite what to make of that, because as I’ve said, how a manager uses a players tells you plenty, and although there were a few signs of life last season (the start against Luton and calling on him from the bench on the final day), it’s gone pretty stale for Smith Rowe at Arsenal.
Perhaps it’s simply a case that we are bargaining, negotiating, trying to get more money, and that’s part of the process, I guess. You might also wonder if Arteta’s desire to keep Smith Rowe is linked to what we feel we can do in the transfer market this summer. That’s just speculation on my part, but is it possible we’ve explored the options out there and decided the investment in someone else isn’t going to result in the upgrade we want? I think that’s probably a bit unlikely, but you can’t help your mind going there.
I think Palace would be a good destination for him though, in the same way I think Fulham would give him the opportunity to play regularly that it doesn’t look like he’s going to get at Arsenal. For me, the most obvious position for him is in that left 8 area, but with so much reporting about our interest in holding midfielders like Mikels Merino and Zubimendi, it looks that that part of the pitch will be filled by Declan Rice. That doesn’t allow for much playing time for someone like Smith Rowe. Clearly the interest from both these clubs is concrete, and I think we’re almost at a point where turning down an offer of around £35m could be viewed as bad business on our part, and bad for the player too. Maybe we try to squeeze a bit more but I think that’s a solid price for someone whose career has not hit the heights we all…
Source link : https://arseblog.com/2024/07/more-smith-rowe-bids-zinchenko-chido-obi-martin/
Author : arseblog
Publish date : 2024-07-20 07:48:37
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