Arsenal stance on future Trossard sale made clear after rejecting offer, as Al-Ittihad bid for Brazilian alternative

Why Arsenal have rejected a late bid from Al-Ittihad to sign Leandro Trossard has emerged along with their stance on a future sale, while the Saudi Arabian side have quickly turned their attention to a Brazil international instead.

The English summer transfer window closed on Friday night, though clubs from plenty of other countries are still able to sign and register new players.

Among the leagues where the window remains open is the Saudi Pro League. The SPL’s deadline is 10pm BST on Monday night (tonight).

News emerged on Monday morning of one of Saudi’s big four – Al-Ittihad – making a late play to sign Arsenal forward Leandro Trossard.

The Belgian has developed into one of the Premier League’s most lethal finishers and regularly makes a match-defining impact off the bench.

Trossard has bagged 19 goals and 12 assists in 71 appearances for the club, only 37 of which were starts.

The 29-year-old will be pivotal in Arsenal’s quest to win their first Premier League title since 2004 and as such, it came as no surprise to learn Al-Ittihad’s bid was rejected.

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Arsenal dismiss Al-Ittihad bid; Trossard not for sale ‘at any price’

The Saudi side’s offer related to a season-long loan that contained an obligation to buy. Arsenal would have received a £4.2m/€5m/$5.5m loan fee, with the obligation to buy next summer worth a fee in the £17m-£21m range.

According to both Fabrizio Romano and David Ornstein, Arsenal rejected the verbal bid which actually arrived on Sunday.

Both reporters then offered insight as to whether any future bids for Trossard would result in a different outcome.

Taking to X, Romano stated Trossard is “considered key player for the project and NOT for sale.”

That was echoed by Ornstein who declared: ‘Arsenal made clear the 29-year-old Belgium international is not for sale at any price as remains is a key part of Mikel Arteta’s squad.’

As such, any future bids for Trossard are also likely to be rebuffed, so long as he remains a potent attacking weapon, of course.

Another factor why Arsenal had zero intention of selling is they would not have been able to sign a replacement. As mentioned, the English window closed on Friday night.

But even if the English window were still open, it appears Al-Ittihad’s verbal offer would have been rejected by Arsenal anyway.

Sources have also told TEAMtalk that Trossard himself has no intention of making the move to the Middle East and is very much focused on enjoying a successful season with the Gunners.

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Al-Ittihad bid for Brazilian winger

With the Trossard route closed and the Saudi deadline fast approaching, Romano revealed Al-Ittihad have turned their attention to Portugal.

Al-Ittihad have fixed their gaze on FC Porto and Brazil international winger, Galeno.

The 26-year-old is now the primary target to satisfy Al-Ittihad’s ambitions of signing a winger before the deadline passes.

A follow-up from Romano subsequently revealed Al-Ittihad have tabled an official proposal worth €50m (€45m plus €5m in add-ons).

Talks are reportedly ‘advancing’, though whether the bid will succeed or fail remains to be seen.

The Portuguese window remains open until tonight also, meaning Porto would have a few hours to wrap up a replacement signing if they do cash in.

If Galeno did complete a move to Al-Ittihad, he’d join a squad that contains household names such as N’Golo Kante, Fabinho, Moussa Diaby and Karim Benzema.

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