Arsenal, last season's runners-up, are, unfortunately, one of those teams that need to kick things up a gear in the market. At the moment, the only addition they have made to the first team is Italian defender Riccardo Calafiori.
The former Bologna ace looks like a quality signing, but considering they already produced the best defence in the league last season, it doesn't feel like enough in the face of Pep Guardiola's Manchester City behemoth.
Calafiori-Arsenal
Fortunately, Edu Gaspar and Co appear to be working on signing at least one more player at the moment: Mikel Merino.
The Real Sociedad ace has been touted for a move to the Emirates all summer after an impressive season for club and country, and it's starting to feel like he might finally be on his way to North London.
Merino-Arsenal
However, he'll have to really impress in red and white to see his valuation get anywhere close to one of his potential new teammates.
The latest on Merino to Arsenal
The links to Merino stem back to late June, and since then, it feels like very little has actually happened regarding his potential move to Arsenal this summer.
Mikel Merino
However, according to reports this week, Edu flew out to Spain to enter into negotiations with Sociedad, raising hopes that the deal could finally be approaching a swift conclusion.
It is still not entirely clear just how much the Spaniard will cost the Gunners, but based on the reports, the final price could reach up to £30m, and while that's not an insignificant sum, it's probably more than reasonable.
For example, in 45 appearances for the Basque side last season, he scored eight goals and provided five assists, equating to an average of a goal involvement every 3.46 games, which for a central midfielder is quite impressive.
Moreover, according to Squawka, he was the only player in Europe's top seven leagues last season to win over 300 duels, coming in with a final total of 326.
mikel-merino-real-sociedad-la-liga
In all, Merino looks like he'll be a brilliant signing for Arsenal, but it's unlikely that he'll ever see his valuation surpass one of the players he could keep out of the left-eight position.
Kai Havertz's valuation in 2024
Yes, the player in question is none other than Kai Havertz, who fans will probably be hoping won't make too many appearances in midfield next season.
Kai-Havertz-Arsenal
The German international was signed from cross-city rivals Chelsea last summer for £65m, and while there were some doubters at the time, he is now valued at €98m by Football Transfers, which converts to a whopping £84m.
This means he's currently worth £19m more than the Gunners paid for him last year and at least £54m more than Merino if he joins the club for the £30m fee being reported.
Now, this lofty valuation might seem too high to some, but following his switch from the left-eight position to striker last season, the "sensational" 25-year-old, as dubbed by Mikel Arteta, was, well, sensational.
For example, in his 51 appearances last season, he scored 14 goals and provided seven assists, equating to an impressive but not mind-blowing average of a goal involvement every 2.42 games.
Arsenal hit the jackpot with "sensational" signing who's worth way more than Merino - opinion
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