Arsenal have had a quiet summer transfer window so far. A number of players, including Mohamed Elneny and Cedric Soares – have left the club, but only one has arrived.
That was Danish young goalkeeper Lucas Nygaard, who put pen to paper on a professional contract at Arsenal last week. He has previously played for FC Nordsjaelland. Nygaard will begin his Gunners career in the academy and join an already-talented list of players in the under-21s set-up.
More are expected to arrive this summer. The Gunners want to add a new centre forward to their squad, while a new centre-back, midfielder, and winger are said to be on the agenda. Riccardo Calafiori is someone that the Gunners are interested in, with the 22-year-old defender set to leave Bologna.
Jack Grealish is another that has been linked with a move to the Emirates, with his future at Manchester City uncertain. Having joined City for £100million less than three years ago, there could be worries about whether the Gunners could even afford him, depending on the price City may want for him.
However, Arsenal do not have any immediate concerns relating to profit and sustainability rules, meaning they have an increased budget to work with this summer. Qualification for the Champions League once again, no doubt, has bolstered their financial position.
Business of Football writer Dave Powell said: “Arsenal’s on-pitch success over the past couple of seasons will help them reduce the losses that were seen for the 2022/23 financial year, although likely still in the red, something which is commonplace across the Premier League.
“The Gunners have some room for manoeuvre when it comes to PSR, considerable room. While they have higher amortised costs to take into account they have offset that by extending player contracts and effective player trading.
“It is feasible that they could have a PSR buffer of some £90m, but given that new regulation arrives in 2025 akin to UEFA’s squad cost ratio rule, they, like most clubs, will be keeping a closer eye on payroll and amortisation costs in order to stay under what will be a 70% limit from the start of 2025/26 for UEFA, with 85% in the Premier League.”
Grealish struggled for regular game time last season. In fact, the former Aston Villa man started just ten Premier League matches, featuring a further ten times off the bench, scoring three goals and adding one assist. City could let him leave this summer or give him another year to show his worth.
Powell added: “Arsenal are in a position to strengthen, and a deal for Grealish is certainly within the realms of what they can do with regards to financial controls. Grealish’s transfer market value, according to Transfermarkt, sits at €60m (£51m), having had a high of €100m (£84.6m) when Manchester City paid £100m for his services from Aston Villa in 2021.
“Given he has three years remaining on his deal City still have considerable leverage when it comes to market value, although a poor season by previous standards and a failure to make the England squad for Euro 2024 will have impacted it significantly.
“Still, City would likely want more than £51m they paid in 2021, a deal that they were permitted at the time to amortise over his six-year contract, something that has since seen Premier League clubs capped at five years when it comes to how many years a transfer fee can be amortised over.
Grealish’s amortised costs have been around £16.7m per year, with three of those years now disappeared, meaning his remaining book value would be just under £50m. That means that City would need to sell him for over and above that sum in order to realise a profit on the player, meaning that a sum of £60m seems the more likely kind of fee for City to be holding out for, potentially higher.
“For Arsenal, that kind of sum would see them face £12m per year amortised costs over a five-year period. For City, the sale of Grealish wouldn’t move the needle in a considerable way due to the fact that their revenues already mean that have significant room for manoeuvre.
“But with wages rising and a Premier League salary cap down the tracks, reducing payroll costs might be on the minds of a number of club executives, and City will also be conscious that the next time they may seek to move Grealish on next summer he will be approaching his 30th birthday with two years left, and his value could well halve as a result.”
