Exclusive: Arsenal could’ve signed €100m January transfer target for closer to £45m in the summer
Arsenal have enquired about Bayer Leverkusen forward Moussa Diaby this January and were also interested in him during the summer, according to Ben Jacobs, writing in his exclusive CaughtOffside column.The France international’s value has now shot up to around €100million, but Jacobs concedes that his value is probably quite a lot lower than that, and […]
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Arsenal have enquired about Bayer Leverkusen forward Moussa Diaby this January and were also interested in him during the summer, according to Ben Jacobs, writing in his exclusive CaughtOffside column.
The France international’s value has now shot up to around €100million, but Jacobs concedes that his value is probably quite a lot lower than that, and Arsenal probably could have signed him for as little as £45m plus add-ons in the summer.
The Gunners urgently need to strengthen in attack this January, but Jacobs has made it clear there is no sense of panic at the Emirates Stadium, even though they missed out on signing Mykhaylo Mudryk.
Arsenal have a strategy that they’re confident with, and it looks unlikely they’ll rush into over-paying for players like Diaby or Raphinha this January, according to Jacobs.
“Arsenal would love to strengthen in this area, having missed out on Mudryk, but I don’t think we’ll see them panic,” Jacobs said. “They’ve enquired about Moussa Diaby at Bayer Leverkusen, that’s a target they explored as well during the summer.
“Still, it’s January and it’s more of a sellers’ market – the evaluation they’ve put on Diaby isn’t realistic, but they’re doing that in order to scare off suitors. It’s no coincidence that we’re also seeing Raphinha, a player Arsenal bid for in the summer, also being quoted at around €100m, the same sort of price as Mudryk.
“The reason for that is, in the case of Bayer Leverkusen, they don’t want to let Diaby go mid-season, while Raphinha wants to continue to fight for his place and to try to win things at Barcelona. This means their clubs are able to hold Arsenal to the broad valuation of Mudryk – it’s win-win for them because they either sell the player for above market value, or they manage to keep hold of them for a bit longer.
“I can understand the frustration from Arsenal fans, because the true value of Diaby probably isn’t much above €70m, or £60m, and that was the case over the summer, when Leverkusen might’ve entertained an offer of around £45m plus add-ons, but the asking price has now shot up because they don’t want to lose the player in the middle of the season, and now quite late in the window. And because Diaby doesn’t have a release clause, they have the power to set an asking price that essentially means ‘not for sale’ without explicitly saying that he’s not for sale, so that means Arsenal would have to pay that price and know they’re paying beyond market value, and that’s not Arsenal’s way. It wouldn’t make sense for them to over-pay for Diaby or Raphinha, having not done so for Mudryk, because that would reflect, to some extent, panic.
“I don’t think there’s too much chance of success with Diaby or Raphinha, and probably with Ferran Torres as well, so we’ll see if they find any new names late on, and if they do I think they’ll strengthen, but until then they’re exploring the situation and they’re calm. There’s no desperation or frustration, even if they were surprised by how Chelsea moved for Mudryk. Even without Chelsea joining the race, though, I think it had reached a point where Arsenal were not going to go any higher, and they were always confident in their approach with that deal.”
Jacobs also provides insight into Arsenal’s confidence in their position in the Premier League right now, with the club happy with their current approach and the success it’s given them, with little desire to rock the boat too much by bringing in new players who could disrupt their momentum in the middle of the season.
The post Exclusive: Arsenal could’ve signed €100m January transfer target for closer to £45m in the summer appeared first on CaughtOffside.