Marseille have been linked with Nketiah for several weeks after their new manager Roberto de Zerbi identified him as a quality addition to his forward line. De Zerbi has already helped Marseille land Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Mason Greenwood from the Premier League, and he wanted to make it a hat-trick with Nketiah’s capture.
Reports in France claimed that Marseille managed to strike an ‘agreement’ on personal terms with the centre-forward. This saw them enter into official transfer talks with Arsenal chiefs Edu and Mikel Arteta.
De Zerbi’s side were soon put off by Arsenal’s £40million demands. But it was not long before Edu lowered Nketiah’s price tag, which breathed new life into the prospective deal.
However, Nketiah will not be heading to Marseille this summer following a brutal blow. According to trusted French reporter Fabrice Hawkins, Marseille have turned their attention to Elye Wahi and have quickly made progress on a deal for the Lens ace.
Marseille have agreed to pay Lens an initial €25m (£21.3m) for Wahi, plus an extra €5m (£4.3m) in potential bonuses.
Hawkins states that Wahi’s arrival at Marseille, which is expected to be announced in the coming days, will end Nketiah’s hopes of joining the Ligue 1 outfit.
Arsenal transfers: Eddie Nketiah transfer OFF
Wahi’s transfer will also be frustrating for Arsenal, as they had hoped to offload Nketiah to increase their own transfer funds.
Nketiah is a graduate of the Arsenal academy, and his sale therefore would have gone down on the club’s books as pure profit, just like the initial £27m fee gained from Emile Smith Rowe’s transfer to Fulham.
Arsenal should still be able to get Nketiah off their books in the near future, though. He is 25 years old and still has his best years ahead of him, while he also has a decent record in front of goal.
These factors mean several clubs will likely make contact with the Gunners for the Englishman over the coming weeks. Crystal Palace, Everton and West Ham United are just some of the Premier League sides who have previously been linked with his services.
Arsenal had been hoping to use the money gained from Nketiah’s exit to fund their swoop for Real Sociedad midfielder Mikel Merino. But Nketiah will now be staying at the Emirates for a little bit longer, while Sociedad are trying to prevent Merino’s exit.
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