Sheffield United boss Slavisa Jokanovic has confirmed that Arsenal are pushing to sign Aaron Ramsdale this summer, and that he is losing the battle to keep him.
The goalkeeper has been strongly linked with a move to the Emirates this summer, with the club without an established second-choice shot-stopper at present thanks to Mat Ryan’s departure at the end of his loan spell, and the latest update sounds like we are closing in on Ramsdale’s signature.
Jokanovic not only confirmed that the English international wants to make the move back to the Premier League, but that he is seemingly losing in his bid to keep his key asset from our side.
“I don’t know. If you ask me if I want him to leave, then no,” Slavisa said in his pre-match press conference(via ExaminerLive) ahead of tomorrow’s clash with West Brom. “I am the Sheffield United coach, he’s a Sheffield United player now and it will depend on the club, it will depend on our club and it will depend also Arsenal too. They are the principal club pushing for him. In this moment there does not exist any change, we will see what happens in the future.
“Naturally he wants to be a Premier League player.
“I am talking with him, he believes it can be a good move for himself, but it is not a bad thing for him if he stays with us.
“He is a talented English player and I understand Arsenal are interested, but this is the business. If he is one of the best players in the league, his price is really high and in the end the decision can be with Arsenal if they want him or not. If they want him they need to spend a lot of money.”
Jokanovic added that he has no interest in losing his number one, but that the decision is with the club, and he would happily turn down a nine-figure amount to keep him if he had the choice.
“If you ask me if I will sell for £100m I would say no,” he continued. “I have no interest in selling the guy but I understand the business side of the club and understand Aaron, too.
“But Aaron understands very well what I want. I explain to him a few times I am not a guy who wants to push him out of the club. If Arsenal want to spend £100m and my word is last I would still say no.
“This is it, but I must be prudent and show some responsibility about club business too.”
The manager was then asked if it was a difficult situation with the prospect of losing a player he has no intention to sell, to which he replied: “I will be disappointed if he leaves the club but it’s part of the realistic situation.
“Arsenal is pushing from one side and I am pulling from a different side.
“This is part of the game. They have more tools than me right now. I cannot pay his contract with this transfer and I am always in a little bit of trouble with this kind of thing.
“Actually right now I am thinking about him as a Sheffield United player because he is a Sheffield United player and we need to recognise that interest exists. That’s it, we will see what happens.
“I will be more satisfied if this guy stays and be part of my team but if it doesn’t happen I will wish him all the best. Everything will be in the future, but right now he is still our player.”
I can’t say Ramsdale would have been high on my wishlist to come in and rival Leno for the number one role, but he has plenty of scope to prove me and his other doubters wrong in the near future, and it seems ever-clearer that we are closing in on his signature at present.
Patrick
It’s clear that GK position is a problem…. but i’d still rather us focus on midfield by far and invest more funds there instead of on a player like Ramsdale, who may not even be better than Leno. I guess we’ve been over this enough times, but I just can’t cope with the fact this club is serious about this player and are willing to overpay to this degree. If you need proof of incompetence for Edu/Areta, here it is.
Rb is our most needed position, then a cam and then a cf if the roumours about laca and auba are true. Is there a chance we could get Toney if auba ir laca go?
I failed to figure out the philosophy of both Arteta and Edu as far as improving the squad is concerned. Ever since Arteta was hire the following signings were done:
Defensive department:
1. Runalson
2..Maghalaes Gabriel
3.Ben white
4.Nuno Tavares
5.Lokonga Sambi
6. Pablo Mari
7. Cedric Soares
And he wants to add Ramsdale!!!!
Attacking departement:
1. Willian
One may wonder, has our offensive department been very good that no any addition is needed for the past 2 years????
This alone can give insight on where Edu and Arteta are taking our beloved Arsenal.
We really need a goalkeeper but I’m not sure if Ramsdale is the answer. Have said he before and I will say it again, we are not going to win anything with Leno as our first choice goalkeeper but then for the reported 30million I think we could have done better than Ramsdale, Chelsea signed Mendy around 27million, we sold Martinez for 20million and now we are trying to buy a goalkeeper that has been relegated 3 times for 30million, this thing’s can only happen at arsenal.
Too much for a back up GK. Im sure we could have spent £30 mil or less on a better GK
MA has been mismanaging Arsenal’s budget and paying a lot more than the players are worth imo
Why are we wasting all this money there’s better plays for half the money.we have no money 1 minute then we throw it away.
I reserve my judgement on Ramsdale at this moment. The lad is only 23 years of age. Yes, he has been relegated at 22 and 23 years respectively with Burnmouth and Sheffield. But there is a reason he doesn’t remain with the team and play in the championship and rather the teams splash big amount of money on him. There is a reason at 23 he got a call up in the squad for European competition. For a goalkeeper, at 23 he still has time to iron some final touches to be a fine G.keeper. 5 years ago no team in EPL was enquiring about Martinez. Let us not write him off before he joins the team. Mark my words this lad will prove doubters wrong.
I appreciate the positivity but don’t you think £30million is a huge sum for a player not everyone is convinced will go that far? Especially when good options (some homegrown) exist at a fraction of the price, which could help put money toward other problem areas in our squad.
It was widely accepted that for the first half of last season Ramsdale was very poor, and one of his biggest flaws still needs major work; making saves but parrying it back to the opposition. He also isn’t great with the ball at his feet and isn’t as commanding in the air as we probably need.
Although he made the Euro squad that only happened because of injuries, were all english goalkeepers fit he would probably have been lucky to make the top 5, he certainly wouldn’t have made the squad had Henderson and Pope been fit.
We’ve been making terrible decisions in the GK department for a while now, for me personally it’s hard to see that this is a sign of change.
He’s already a decent keeper, and an incredibly brave one. One flaw is that he sometimes strays too far out of his 6 yd. area, and has conceded goals that otherwise he would have probably saved. This is not a great problem in a 23 year-old keeper who is quite a few years away from reaching his peak, and certainly one which our goalkeeping coaches ought to be able to fix. Some of the finest footballers have suffered the indignity of relegation before going on to greatness.
Seriously, what exactly is it about this underwhelming, ill-suited, long ball clearing bag of toys that suggests he should be our long-term Keeper option…for the love of God, when are we going to right this increasingly desperate and horribly mismanaged club
If at all he is coming to Arsenal, he should come for a lower price. That price is too high for a back up GK. Anyway if and when he comes I hope he is able to compete with Lenno for the no.1 spot.