Fulham 'consider' fresh bid as Arsenal prepare for potential transfer windfall

Arsenal could be set to receive a fresh bid for one of they first team stars as they look to offload a number of players this summer. The Gunners need to raise money to be able to spend this summer due to Profit and Sustainability rules.

While Arsenal have the money there to spend, they cannot lose more than the limit over a three-year rolling period, and with more than £200million splashed out last year, sales must take place ahead of the new season if Mikel Arteta wants to strengthen his squad significantly.

As part of that, a number of fringe stars have been made available, and there has already been movement. Albert Sambi-Lokonga and Nuno Tavares have both left the club on loan deals, and it’s likely they will both be made permanent in the future.

Aside from those deals, Eddie Nketiah, Reiss Nelson, Kieran Tierney, Emile Smith Rowe and maybe even Jakub Kiwior could be made available this summer. Interest is already being expressed in some of those players, and Smith Rowe, in particular, has interest from within the Premier League, and within London no less.

Fulham are said to be willing to offer the midfielder regular first team football after his struggles to feature regular for Arsenal over the last 18 months. While Arteta has continued to speak about Smith Rowe in glowing terms, he has not deemed him good enough to be a starter over the last year or so.

Fulham were said to have seen a bid rejected this week, with the value of the bid not revealed. The Gunners rejected the offer but it was reportedly made pretty clear that a deal could be done this summer.

With that in mind, The Standard have reported that Fulham are now considering a fresh offer from Smith Rowe, with previous reports claiming it will take around £25million to seal a deal. The attack-minded midfielder is under contract at the Emirates Stadium until 2026.

What Smith Rowe has said about his Arsenal future

Smith Rowe hasn’t spoken much recently. but after he was linked with a move away at the end of last season, he told The Times: “I just want to be on the pitch. This was the hardest season of my career. I had this injury in my groin since, maybe, I was 19 years old. I’d just been managing it season after season, getting injections and taking tablets to not feel it.

“Last season I had an injection which would make me not feel my groin at all, even when kicking the ball. That was the only thing helping me get through games. But at the start of this season, I was still feeling it and felt I couldn’t just keep having injections for the rest of my career. I got to Manchester United away [last September] and took a shot, off balance, but tried to use all my power. I knew as soon as I done it, I’d torn something.”

Arsenal boss Arteta said of Smith Rowe after a win in the spring: “I love him as a player, he is a joy to watch. How he moves, changes direction and how physical he was today without the ball. He went into duels and won a lot of them and was thinking with that killer instinct to play forward and make things happen. When Emile is in that moment, it's very difficult to stop him.”