Arsenal are set to lose a star just 12 months on from him committing to Gunners
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Arsenal have recently taken advantage of signing players from London rivals. Now, they're going to lose a star to another capital club.
The Gunners signed the likes of Declan Rice from West Ham United and Kai Havertz from Chelsea 12 months ago, but this summer, there's a focus on selling as much as there is buying. Reports suggest Mikel Arteta's squad needs trimming, with as many as nine first-team players heading for the exit door.
Now, the wheels are in motion over one deal from Arsenal to another London club. The player in question has not long committed himself to the Gunners, either.
Arsenal signed Kai Havertz from Chelsea – but deals between the Gunners and their London rivals are usually uncommon (Image credit: Getty Images)
TEAMtalk is reporting that Reiss Nelson has agreed to move to West Ham. The Irons look to have beaten Crystal Palace to his signature.
Nelson earned his debut in Arsene Wenger's final season and was hailed as one of the most exciting prospects to ever blossom from the club's Hale End academy. The winger went on loan at Hoffenheim and Feyenoord to further his education, too, playing under the likes of Julian Nagelsmann and Arne Slot, respectively, before returning home to London Colney to feature for Arteta in his first season.
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“Crystal Palace are still in contact with him and are hoping they can spring a hijack, but sources have confirmed to TEAMtalk that West Ham are in the driving seat and pushing to get a deal completed by the end of this week,” the report states. Palace are in the market for a wide option following the departure of Michael Olise.
Reiss Nelson looks to be leaving Arsenal (Image credit: Getty Images)
Though a fee is yet to be agreed, however, the departure of Nelson could well be very lucrative for Arsenal. As an academy product who only signed a new contract extension last summer, any incoming fee for the attacker can be registered as ‘pure profit’ that the Gunners don't have to amortise: meaning that they can put the entirety of the transfer money paid for Nelson in this year's accounts and not spread it across his West Ham contract.
What's more, Arsenal paid out a lot to the Hammers for Declan Rice last summer. They may well have an upper hand in negotiating to charge a little more, as a result. FourFourTwo understands the move may be around £20-25 million, making it Arsenal's biggest sale of the summer thus far.
Could the Rice deal affect the Nelson transfer? (Image credit: Getty Images)
In FourFourTwo's opinion, this is a good move for the north Londoners and for Nelson. He started just once in the Premier League all season and wasn't even included in the squad towards the back end of the campaign when Arteta had a fully fit group to choose from – so a solid fee for such a fringe star is good business from the Gunners.
Nelson is worth €15m, as per Transfermarkt. His contract runs until 2027.
Mark White is the Digital Content Editor at FourFourTwo. During his time on the brand, Mark has written three cover features on Mikel Arteta, Martin Odegaard and the Invincibles, and has written pieces on subjects ranging from Sir Bobby Robson’s time at Barcelona to the career of Robinho. An encyclopedia of football trivia and collector of shirts, he first joined the team back in 2020 as a staff writer.
