The latest transfer news sees James Maddison and Ben White to Arsenal feature heavily, while Lorenzo Pellegrini to Liverpool is a juicy one.
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When it comes to the Gunners, they’ve been linked with so many players already this summer as Mikel Arteta aims for a squad overhaul.
As for Liverpool, Jurgen Klopp has lost Georginio Wijnaldum on a free transfer and wants to replace him in midfield.
Let’s dig a bit deeper into some of these reports.
Maddison, White to the Gunners
It is clear that Arsenal are after a creative midfielder, central midfielder and help defensively, and two new names have popped up.
James Maddison to Arsenal and Ben White to Arsenal is now doing the rounds.
As for Maddison, a report from the Daily Express states that Arteta is a big fan of the Leicester City playmaker and he is their main target this summer, but Arsenal may not be able to afford the fee the Foxes want for the England international.
Per the report, a $97.3 million fee was rejected by Leicester last summer and Maddison only signed a new contract in 2020 until the summer of 2024.
Maddison showed glimpses of his brilliance last season as Leicester finished fifth in the Premier League and won the FA Cup, but he has been nowhere near Gareth Southgate’s England squad and perhaps this move would help him with that?
It’s unlikely that Arsenal will want to spend over $100 million on Maddison and given their finances will be hit after not qualifying for Europe, surely they will have cheaper options lined up.
Mexico star Jesus ‘Tecatito’ Corona has been mentioned, so too has Anderlecht youngster Albert Sambi Lokonga, while they also missed out on Emiliano Buendia as Aston Villa signed him instead.
Arsenal seem to be scrambling for new signings and perhaps they aren’t as attractive of a proposition as they once were. With Martin Odegaard heading back to Real Madrid, they want a creative midfielder but perhaps Arteta should put faith in academy products Emile Smith Rowe and Joe Willock to fill those roles? Just a thought.
New center back wanted
Regarding Ben White, our partners in the UK at Sky Sports believe that a $55 million bid from Arsenal has been turned down by Brighton.
Per the report, talks are ongoing and Arsenal will come back in with another offer.
The England defender, 23, has had a meteoric rise in recent seasons and is a surprise inclusion in the England squad for the European Championships.
White is versatile as he can play in defense or midfield and is comfortable on the ball. Many other top teams have been chasing White in recent months with Liverpool reportedly interested in the talented young center back.
With David Luiz and Shkodran Mustafi moving on, Arteta will now focus on Rob Holding, Pablo Mari, Gabriel and maybe William Saliba as his main center back options. Are they good enough to get Arsenal back into the top four hunt? Probably not.
Once again during a transfer window, the Gunners need to strengthen at center back and White is a rising star and a perfect fir for the possession-based system Arteta likes to play out of the back.
Pellegrini eyed by Klopp
In non-Arsenal news, Liverpool and Jurgen Klopp are working on signing a replacement for Georginio Wijnaldum.
After losing the influential Dutch midfielder on a free transfer, it is believed that the Reds want to sign a replacement.
With Fabinho, Jordan Henderson, James Milner, Thiago Alcantara, Naby Keita and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain around, you’d think that Liverpool are set in central midfielder.
However, a report from Calciomercato states that Pellegrini is available for just $36 million due to his release clause as the Roma captain has only missed out on being in Italy’s EURO 2020 squad due to injury.
Pellegrini, 24, is a box-to-box central midfielder and would be a perfect, and relatively cheap, replacement for Wijnaldum.
After signing Ibrahima Konate to add extra options at center back, Klopp has already done some business this summer and the way Liverpool ended last season, you can see them starting the 2021-22 campaign really well.
Pellegrini is a wanted man and although this would be a good move for Liverpool, would he play a lot for Klopp’s side?
