Arsenal in pole position to sign £45 Million midfielder

Despite having a reported limited budget Arsenal have apparently moved ahead of Tottenham in the race to sign Real Madrid star Dani Ceballos.

Ceballos, who is valued at £45 Million, is not part of Real manager Zinedine Zidane’s plans next season and is therefore on the market so to speak and the two clubs said to be front runners are Arsenal and our bitter rivals Tottenham, but if the press is to be believed we have moved ahead of Spurs.

The problem for Arsenal is obviously the fee, however, the Spanish media as cited by the Daily Express are claiming that Unai Emery is looking for a loan deal with an option to buy as opposed to a permanent transfer.

The 22-year-old is seen as an ideal replacement for the departed Aaron Ramsey and if the proposed loan deal is a success then Arsenal would then trigger the option to buy.

Whether Real would look favourably on a loan deal must be open to question, they have already spent heavily and will need to balance the books to some extent.

Personally, I just cannot see this one happening. It really is not in the best interests of Real Madrid to agree to a loan deal and why would they when there are other clubs interested in a permanent deal?

That said, if Tottenham do not follow through then it may be a case of a loan deal with an option to buy is better than nothing.

Plus, it should be noted that the press in Spain are saying that Arsenal is in pole position to sign the midfielder.

47 Comments

  1. A loan deal can work because the player only wants to leave real Madrid on loan with a chance of going back next summer. A good player though.

  2. Personally I think Nabil Fekir is a better player and available at a lesser fee. Fekir is 26 next week so could give Arsenal good service for 6 years at a fee of £30 million allegedly. He is can be our new Santi Cazorla. C’mon time to sign CLASS.

    1. You can’t compare Santi and Fekir. Fekir is an attacking midfielder who plays close to the goal. Santi was a deeplying playmaker. Ceballos could be the replacement for Santi, as he can play as a deeplying playmaker as well. Also Fekir has a bad injury record, the reason Liverpool didn’t sign him last season. If Fekir comes, it would be for Ozil

      1. Santiago Cazorla started out as a winger, then he played as an attacking midfielder for a while, before Wenger moved him to the deep lying playmaker role….. as an attacking midfielder during his first year at Arsenal (if my memory serves me right), he had more goals and assists than Hazard….. And I think Fekir is somewhat similar due to his ability to play those roles (winger and CAM), and his technical abilities. I only prefer Ziyech, because I’ve watched him more often than Fekir. Another player I feel could replace Cazorla is Isco. He has that close control, and can wriggle out of tight situations just like Cazorla.

        1. Yes I know, but for me, he was good when playing as a winger and attacking mid, but world class as a deeplying playmaker. I don’t see Fekir playing there.

          I’m not sure Ziyech is up for it to play in the physical PL. As a Dutchman, I’ve seen him play many times. He takes a lot of risk in his game, resulting in a lot of possession lost.

          About Isco, I really rate him too, but not in that position but in a more advanced role. He dribbles too much and takes too much risk to play in a deeplying playmaker role. But that’s just my opinion.

  3. I wonder how a club ‘moves ahead’ in a race. Is Emery quicker in a sprint than Poch? The article like 99% is absolute garbage. Completely made up by the press. Every player linked with Tottenham is then linked with Arsenal and vica versa. The only possible ‘truth’ behind this is that the agent wants to hurry it along.

  4. Sky Sports say.. “Ceballos is quoted as saying he wants to play 40 games next season, and his preference is a loan move as he believes he can have an impact at Real in the future.”

    Arsenal would just be somewhere for him to keep fit basically so he can return the year after!

    Our options are limited and It’s all getting a bit desperate already I fear!!

    1. GunnerRay, I also saw that quote. I like the idea, we benefit, the player benefits and so does Madrid. Makes total sense to me.

      If he does well and enjoys his time with us, then Madrid might be happy to sell him to us.

      Madrid did not really spend the Ronaldo money in the last season, so they had a buffer to begin with, they have since sold a lot of peripheral players that would add up to a lot. They could also do something similar to what happened with Mbappe where it was a loan followed by a mandatory purchase the next season, should they want to bring in an Eriksen/Pogba for example.

      1. Yeah, I understand that DDK3 but I always have reservations over players who do want to join the Arsenal family because of a love for the club!

        I like players to wear the badge with pride and a commitment to the club. When a player signs a long term agreement it shows they are for the cause (long term).

    1. Just read that Sue- it can only mean he wants out and this will force our hand in buying a CB replacement.Im surprised by Kos.As Club Captain you would have thought he would act professionally but the full story is not out yet.Interesting development

        1. Dani is a rumour imo. It’s the media talk coming from spain to push an outcome. How many times have players we want, been link to spurs and Visa versa.

          Koscielny said before he returned this year that this would be his last season at arsenal. So nothing has changed for him on this front. If we can 10m for him then sell. He has been fabulous for us but clearly wants a change.

  5. I really hope there is something more than Kos just refusing to travel because he wants out.

    It would mar, for me personally, a superb player who has been totally committed to The Arsenal from the day he arrived.

    One of AW’s great buys and greatly appreciated by those who watched him play.

    It would mean, however, that it will give UE the chance to play our young centre backs and that is the only positive I can see at the moment.

    As for the rumour, if any player seems to think he can use The Arsenal as a “test area” and then go back to his former club…just tell him to do the obvious andgo to spuds for a season.

    1. From the interviews I read he strikes me as someone who is very grateful to Wenger for bringing him to Arsenal. Now that Wenger has gone I wonder if he has the same commitment anymore.

      1. He is only pulling this because Wenger is not there and he wants one last big payout from a free transfer. Gross of Kos to try to take advantage of the club like this. Very disappointing.

  6. Just read the Arsenal statement about Kos on Sky and BBC, Aresenal are really not happy are they!

  7. To me Dani Ceballos is a much lesser Aaron Ramsey and who is not good enough for Real Madrid or Arsenal at that money. We need class. Cazorla and Sanchez were class. Ceballos is £45 million OK, nothing more. Nabil Fekir is a game changer. Could be our new Santi. Let’s get class players.

    1. Haha, have you ever seen the kid play? I’m assuming you don’t. He’s not similar to Ramsey. Ceballos is more of a playmaker. He reminds me a bit of a young Cesc. His passing maybe not as good as Cesc’s, but he’s got a better shot and better dribbling skills. I really think he can be world class, so if we can sign him with a option to make it permanent, we should immediately do it.

      1. MrLucky
        Yes watched both. Feir with reguarity. Ceballos didn’t look good for Real, but to be fair nobody looked good for Real. Did not look special in anyway. Fekir scored 12 goals last season and looked what he is, a quality player. Wouldn’t mind a midfield player who can score 12 goals.

    2. Cannot afford Fekir, simple as that. Ceballos is 22, I wouldn’t expect him to be as good as Ramsey. He had a fantastic U21 Euros though and is surely better than what we have. A loan move would be great for player and club.

  8. BBC reporting Kos wants out? Yes please! Arsenal must prove they’re not transfer market amateurs for once. Hold out for a transfer fee, even 33yo footballers go for a fee nowadays

  9. Its player rebellion time, koscielny,neymar, lukaku are missing from pre-season training. I do want to know more about kos situation since he was been a perfect off-field since he came.

  10. I have it on good authority that 2 superstars will be signed by Arsenal by Saturday.
    They are both “game changers”, players we desperately need.
    The club has been “monitoring” these super stars for months and “negotiations”
    are “well under way” in fact “reliable” sources “close” to said super star
    declare a deal will be announced “any day now”
    According to “reports”these players have been spotted at Heathrow
    are now following Arsenal on twitter and have bought houses in London already.
    Their names are wait for it Yaya Sanogo and Abou Diaby 🙂 🙂 🙂

  11. He has been a good servant to arsenal,I think they should let him go but only for a fee,he has played through injury in the past and owes them nothing,but I agree he should not leave for nothing,I can only think that the French sides that are interested think they can get him for nothing so are not bidding,I am sure Arsenal would be willing to let him go if offers were on the table.

  12. If you are Real Madrid, what would you do for your financial advantage; loan to Arsenal for a season or sell to another club with a buy back clause?
    Real Madrid is out buying players for the coming season, its pockets are not bottomless and there are fair play constraints even for Real Madrid.

    1. And Madrid want Eriksen it is rumored, so Spurs do seem to have the edge. But Ceballos wants significant game time which we can offer him more than Spuds can. We’ll just have to see how it turns out.

  13. It might not be a loan deal, it might be a sell with buy-back clause that increases each year. Say his Spurs offer is 50m, that’s what Real would like, but they allow us to take him for 35m, with buy back for 45m next year and 55m the year after. Hence they lose 15m, but retain the option. Also, he has more chances to feature in matches with Arsenal than Spurs. Who knows in 2-years time, Zizou will be there or not at Real!!! A win-win for all, we kind of get the gem of a player, and if they buy him back effectively they pay us his wages spent on those 2 years.

  14. MrLucky
    You haven’t have been watching them have you? Ceballos is completely different style of player to Santi Cazorla. What about CREATIVITY which is what I was talking about.

  15. What we’ve lacked for the last near on 15yrs is a leader on the pitch, not since Adam’s & Vieira have we had a true vocal captain and we don’t have anyone at the club at the minute to fill the void, they even handed the captains armband to Ozil at different points of the season, FFS! I’d have more trust in Captain Birdseye

Comments are closed

Top Blog Sponsors