Bidding rivals emerge for key Arsenal transfer target as £30m 'asking price' stalls deal
Arsenal’s top transfer target causes yet more complications as Premier League return draws close
Arsenal have reportedly sent a clear message to Real Sociedad that they are unwilling to pay the €35 million (£29.8m) that the La Liga side are asking for in order to sign Mikel Merino.
The news comes shortly after Real Sociedad received a huge boost ahead of their 2024/25 campaign with 25-year-old Martin Zubimendi turning down a move to the Gunner’s Premier League rivals, Liverpool, in favour of staying with his boyhood club.
The Spanish international had a £51m release clause but has opted to stay in San Sebastian after being offered a new contract and higher wages by Real Sociedad who were desperate to keep hold of him.
Real Sociedad’s hope for a similar scenario with Merino seems unlikely, however. After bringing in David Raya and Riccardo Calafiori this summer, Mikel Arteta soon made the Real Sociedad midfielder and Spanish Euros 2024 winner Merino his transfer priority. However, while the Gunners remain in talks with the Spanish club to sign the 28-year-old, reports from El Diario Vasco - a newspaper based in San Sebastian - Arsenal are yet to submit an offer for Merino and will not match the £29.8m the Basque club have already received from Atletico Madrid earlier this summer.
The report notes that the Gunners view such valuation too high for a player who will be out of contract at the end of next season. Merino has asked to leave his current side in favour of a move to the Emirates, having rejected the move to the Spanish capital, but fears are now growing that Arteta’s side could well walk away from a deal unless Real Sociedad lower their asking price.
The Gunners are reportedly willing to pay closer to the region of £21.3m but with this being over £8m less than the desired figure set by the Spanish club, Arsenal’s sporting director Edu will have a lot still to negotiate.
When asked about is future back in June, Merino told the Press: “The next step has to come from within, from me, analysing myself, seeing what player I am now, where I am and where I want to go. And what is the way to do it.”
Merino’s potential move to Arsenal has dominated the transfer talk of late with the Gunners previously hoping the move would be completed by their first Premier League clash of the 2024/25 campaign against Wolves this Saturday. It had also been imagined a new striker would have made the move to N7 by the time the new season got underway but patience must prevail for the faithful Gooners.