£42m striker target for Arsenal

Arsenal have been linked to strikers all window, but ones that always seemed outside of their price range given their current needs. No one ever expected them to drop the £70m+ it was going to cost to secure Victor Osimhen or Viktor Gyökeres, but perhaps Europa League final hat trick hero Ademola Lookman makes a bit more sense?

Italian-based journalist Alfredo Pedulla reports that Arsenal have inquired about Lookman, who would cost them about £42m. They could also do one of those swap-but-not-a-swap deals where they sell defender Jakub Kiwior to Atalanta at a discount in exchange for them lowering the price on Lookman.

Several other outlets are reporting that PSG and Liverpool have also asked about Lookman. I can’t track down anyone reputable confirming this, so my guess is Lookman’s agent is yapping in an attempt to get Arsenal to speed up the process and/or give his client more money. Lookman has reportedly skipped training to force a move.

The tl;dr on Lookman is: Yes he’s good, yes he’s probably worth £42m in the current market. There are some caveats, but nothing about this is obviously dumb on its face. He’s a talented all-around forward who can play multiple positions, who scores and assists, and who is an above average dribbler. OBV loves him.

He might have ran a little hot with his finishing last year, but there also aren’t any red flags. These are good shot locations, and his per-90 shot volume is pretty good.

So, the caveats. First is that Atalanta’s system is pretty unique, and Lookman’s numbers might not translate for teams that play traditional 4-3-3s. In his previous stints as a classic left winger or center forward, he’s been very average. Atalanta usually play a 3-4-2-1 formation with a traditional target forward in front of a playmaking midfielder-like substance and a runner who has some second striker and some winger-type qualities, with Lookman filling that latter role perfectly.

The other caveat is that Lookman has been average in previous Premier League stints for three different teams. His most recent for Leicester was probably the best of the three, though, so it’s very possible he’s just a bit of a late bloomer who’s improved over the past three years.

I like Lookman a lot, but I’d want my scouting department to be extremely confident that his game translates to a different system before I agreed to sign him. None of Arsenal, Liverpool or PSG play anything like Atalanta, so there’s high risk of a flop here, as good as the player is.

—KM

The Nketiah vs. Gimenez vote was close, but y’all went for Eddie. Forest should have one of the two by the deadline, let’s see if they agree.

News and rumours

• [Daily Dose Of Internet guy voice] This is YOUR daily dose of Chelsea bullshit. Raheem Sterling doesn’t want to leave England, so there goes the possibilities of Juventus or Saudi Arabia providing a solution.
  
  Here’s my completely made-up idea: Man United want to get rid of Jadon Sancho, and Chelsea have been linked to him. If they get rid of Sancho, they’re probably short a forward/winger. Swap them! I know there’s a pretty big (~£10m) salary discrepancy here, but surely these accounting wizards can figure out a fee structure that makes sense for everyone. It replaces the old problem with a new problem for everyone instead of solving it, but no one’s coming with a solution. No one wants these guys at their current cost.

• People who are not me are suggesting that the Chelsea Troubled Assets Relief Program deal United are actually willing to do is taking Ben Chilwell. And to that I say: Sure.

• Manchester United have reportedly bid €50m for Atalanta midfielder Ederson and been told to do one, since the Bergamo club are already selling Teun Koopmeiners to Juventus and don’t want to be bothered with replacing two midfielders in one week. Meanwhile, the Manuel Ugarte loan-to-buy negotiations are still ongoing for United.

• Fulham had a £17m offer accepted by Lyon for wonderkid playmaker Rayan Cherki, but apparently he’s not enthusiastic about the move and will take some convincing. Cherki is an outrageous creative talent, but he’s kind of slow and plays no defense. Super high risk/high potential reward signing for anyone.

• AS Roma have successfully yeeted Paulo Dybala to Saudi club Al-Qadsiah, so expect them to be super active before the deadline with some budget cleared up.

• Argentinian journalist Gaston Edul says Newcastle have made an offer for his countryman Santiago Hezze, a 22-year-old defensive midfielder who’s coming off a very good season for Olympiakos. In a jacked up DM market, if they can get him for south of £25m, they’ve done very well.

• City Football Group club Girona is replacing Savinho with Watford youngster Yaser Asprilla, who was previously linked to Leicester. I think La Liga is going to suit him well and wouldn’t be shocked to see him sold to the big boys at a discount in a couple years.

• NWSL has agreed to a new Collective Bargaining Agreement with its players that’s going to change the landscape of women’s football in ways that we can’t even predict yet. The draft is dead, so college players can now negotiate with teams directly. The salary cap will at least double by 2030, and could increase further if league revenue increases more than projected. The health care and parental leave benefits the union won will likely have ripple effects on players’ negotiations with leagues in other countries. You can read more about it here.

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