Kevin Campbell has expressed doubts that Arsenal can do a deal to bring Thomas Partey to the Emirates in the summer unless the club’s owners step in to fund the move.
The Gunners have been linked with several high profile players ahead of the next transfer window, however; they are also in a mini-financial crisis due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic and their absence from the Champions League since 2017.
The club has reportedly told their staff that they should not expect any big-money arrivals in the summer.
They also just succeeded in getting a majority of their squad members to take a 12.5% pay cut as they suffer from losses due to covid19, and Campbell admits that he doesn’t see them doing high profile business like signing Thomas Partey in the summer from their own purse.
Campbell said as quoted by the Metro: “If Stan Kroenke invests in the likes of Thomas Partey, you can say OK, fair enough, we can make that move.
“But if the owner doesn’t invest, I don’t see how Arsenal are going to be able to afford him, unless you swap players.
“I know [Alexandre] Lacazette has been coveted by Atletico Madrid before he joined Arsenal, so there might be some swaps that can happen.
“But I just don’t think Arsenal are in the financial position to be able to be aggressive in the transfer market, how we as fans would love them to be.
“I see they might have to come down a couple of levels, and I don’t mind that, I don’t mind the team giving younger players a chance, I just think there’s experienced players out there who won’t cost the earth who could do a job at Arsenal.
“I think we need to be more of a team, and not look for the names. We’ve missed out on that for years.”
Partey is reportedly very open to the idea of joining Arsenal in the summer, but the Gunners will have to reach an agreement with Atletico Madrid who values him at around £43 million.
