Arsenal reject offer for £35m star as Premier League rival eyes Tottenham target

Arsenal have reportedly rejected a £25m bid from a Premier League side for out-of-favour striker Eddie Nketiah, with the 25-year-old now their top target.

The writing has been on the wall for quite some time for Nketiah at Arsenal. While he has made 168 appearances for the north London outfit since making his debut as an 18-year-old in 2017, just 70 of those have been in the starting XI.

Moreover, his return of 38 goals over the past seven years does not make for great reading, and with Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus ahead of him in the attacking pecking order at the Gunners, now might be the time for a fresh start elsewhere.

Indeed, he was an unused sub in Arsenal’s 2-0 win over Wolves in their Premier League opener at the weekend, with the attacker likely to struggle for game time in the season ahead.

For a time it looked like the former Leeds United loanee could join Bournemouth, while Crystal Palace were also linked with the forward.

DON’T MISS: Nott’m Forest advance towards brilliant signing of Arsenal striker target – Sources

The Cherries were on the lookout for a new top marksman after seeing the prolific Dominic Solanke join Tottenham earlier this month for £65m.

However, the Dorset outfit shocked many by securing a club-record transfer of FC Porto’s Evanilson for £40.2m – which smashed their previous most expensive purchase of £28m for Jefferson Lerma in 2018.

Palace are still interested in Nketiah but a move for the 25-year-old is only likely if strikers Odsonne Edouard and Jean Philippe Mateta leave the club.

The Eagles are desperate to keep hold of the latter, in particular, especially after seeing star winger Michael Olise join Bayern Munich for £50m earlier this summer.

Forest make their Nketiah move

But, they may not get the chance to bid for Nketiah as according to The Athletic, Nottingham Forest have made the striker their top target to strengthen their attack.

The Gunners academy product – who had agreed personal terms with Marseille last month but the deal collapsed as both teams could not agree on a fee – is valued at around £30-35m.

READ MORE: Arsenal to offload FIVE stars in brutal fire sale, as Everton, Crystal Palace, Leicester and Wolves prepare bids

Now, The Athletic’s David Ornstein claims that Forest have seen an opening bid worth £25m, including add-ons, rejected for Nketiah; but negotiations over a possible deal are continuing.

The one-time England international – whose contract runs until 2027 at the Emirates – is not the only forward Forest have their eyes on, however.

TEAMtalk understands they are also keeping tabs on Feyenoord star Santiago Gimenez, but the aforementioned report claims Nketiah is seen as their top target for the time being.

The Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur-linked Gimenez scored 26 goals in 41 games across all competitions for the Dutch side last season. A first bid for the 23-year-old was unsuccessful but they may return with an improved offer soon.