Arsenal receive new offer for forward who’s close to agreeing personal terms with European bidders

Arsenal have received a new offer from Marseille for striker Eddie Nketiah, despite the French club already signing Mason Greenwood, and the Hale End product’s stance on the move to Ligue 1 is becoming clearer, according to reports in France.

Marseille have identified Nketiah as a top target to reinforce their attack after signing off on the exit of another former Arsenal forward, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, to Al-Qadsiah. TEAMtalk revealed earlier this month that Arsenal would reject a £20m offer for Nketiah and ask for a fee worth double that amount, but a deal could yet be struck.

Now, in a fresh development on Saturday evening, French source Foot Mercato has revealed that Marseille have made a bid for Nketiah again.

There is no detail in the report of how much this offer is worth, nor how Arsenal will respond. However, some crucial information about Nketiah’s opinion of the move has been leaked.

Foot Mercato claims Nketiah is close to agreeing personal terms with Marseille. Once again, there is no mention of what kind of wages they are offering him, or even how long the contract would last, but the 25-year-old seems to have had his head turned and is happy with what could be on offer in France.

Indeed, it’s reiterated that Nketiah is ‘open’ to leaving Arsenal this summer because of competition for places at the Emirates Stadium.

The former England under-21 goal-getter is already behind Gabriel Jesus in the pecking order up front for Arsenal and there is believed to be interest in bringing in another upgrade at centre-forward.

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Nketiah was originally believed to be a plan B for Marseille during their pursuit of Greenwood from Manchester United, but after that deal went through, it now appears they have room for both of them in their attack.

After all, it’s not only Aubameyang that has left Marseille this summer, but also Iliman Ndiaye, who went to Everton.

Arsenal forward’s head turned

Marseille are building up a new sporting project after finishing eighth last season and bringing in former Brighton boss Roberto De Zerbi as their new head coach.

Even with no European football on offer, when he could be playing in the Champions League with Arsenal, Nketiah seems enticed by the Marseille project and the role he could have in it.

He has never played for a foreign club in his career yet, with his only spell away from Arsenal being a brief loan with Leeds United during the 2019-20 season.

But Nketiah might be ready to broaden his horizons – if, indeed, Arsenal agree to it. And their asking price, for now, may be out of Marseille’s reach.

It’s a similar story with another of Marseille’s attacking targets. They are also reported to be keen on Wolves forward Hwang Hee-chan. Similarly, he would be keen on the move, but his current employers may put up an obstacle with his price tag.

Coincidentally, it’s also at the £20m level that Marseille have been trying their luck for Hwang so far, but to no avail.

Perhaps that has put Nketiah back on their agenda, but in either case, they’ll have to make more of a financial effort.

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