Transfer Deadline Day: Neto to join on loan, but further arrivals seem unlikely

Good morning, welcome to Transfer Deadline Day.

Let’s start with news that our pursuit of a second choice goalkeeper took a significant turn last night. The target was Espanyol’s Joan Garcia, but that didn’t pan out as the Spanish club insisted that Arsenal meet the full €30m release clause to get the deal done. I don’t blame them for that one bit, but nor do I think there’s any sense at all in Arsenal paying that kind of money for a player with basically no top-flight experience.

He has a smattering of La Liga appearances, and last season played 21 times for Espanyol in the Spanish second division. As much as goalkeeping coach Inaki Cana might view him as the solution, there’s really no way we should commit to that kind of outlay for a player with such little experience. You also have to wonder why, having left things so late with Aaron Ramsdale’s departure, Espanyol’s stance wasn’t something we were already aware of. Talk about being over a barrel, they knew we weren’t negotiating from a place of strength at all.

Meanwhile, Ramsdale must have been nervously waiting in a Southampton hotel because until such time as a number 2 goalkeeper was secured, his move couldn’t be allowed to go through. So, the end result is a season long loan for Bournemouth’s Neto, a man who will be greeted warmly on his arrival by Ben White (see featured pic!).

I can’t say I’m a massive fan of the Brazilian, but at this point of the window, in these circumstances, it makes a lot more sense to me than splashing €30m we could use elsewhere on a 23 year old goalkeeper who may or not may be worth that kind of money. Neto is a player we’d been linked with before, by the way. In the summer of 2021 he was a name bandied around before we signed Ramsdale from Sheffield United, the old Kia connection was strong at that point, but Arteta insisted on the Englishman. But now, here we are.

The reports say it’s just a bog-standard loan, no option or obligation, and…

Source link : https://arseblog.com/2024/08/transfer-deadline-day-neto-to-join-on-loan-but-further-arrivals-seem-unlikely/

Author : arseblog

Publish date : 2024-08-30 06:15:22

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