According to a report in Spanish outlet El Confidencial, Arsenal have asked Real Madrid about taking Dani Ceballos on loan for another season.
The Spaniard had another impressive outing in the 2-0 FA Cup semi-final win over Man City at Wembley last night, and has become a player Mikel Arteta feels he can count on.
The Arsenal boss is keen to retain his services, and the midfielder’s Real Madrid future is in genuine doubt because of his lack of relationship with Zinedine Zidane.
However, there are financial issues. Real Madrid president Florentino Perez insisted there would be no major arrivals at the Bernebeu because of the monetary impact of Covid-19.
“The situation is very bad and there will be no great signings,” he said.
“It is very difficult to ask the players to lower their salaries and make signings of this kind.”
As such, they’re keen to sell players to raise funds and would prefer to bring in cash for Ceballos. However, they’re not ruling out the possibility of a second loan deal but one which comes with an obligation to buy at the end of it – a fee of around €20m has been mooted.
Ceballos is reportedly happy in London and at Arsenal, consolidating a long-standing friendship with Hector Bellerin has helped him settle, and in a difficult market, it would certainly be a convenient deal to do.
For a while it looked as if his loan might be another unsuccessful one for Arsenal to deal with, but his form and commitment in recent months have turned things around.
Let’s hope this is one we can get over the line.
We need to make this happen as the guy gives you everything on the pitch and the joy on his face at the end of the match was infectous
I concur. Lately he has been good. Yesterday he was good defensively as well. If price is not high then we should buy him but if it is high and can’t afford then another year on loan will do.
It’s easy to forget Ceballos is only 23 yrs old and this is his first season abroad. For large parts of this season I’ve been a little guilty of viewing him as an experienced guy brought in to fix our midfield problems! I think he’ll kick on to be a great player – hope he stays.
He’s 23???!!!!!??!!!??!!!?
Until he turns 24
But until he is 24, he will remain 23, as that is just how it works !!!
That’s the way it usually works here ..
I agree he’s having a good run of form. But I think Arteta still has decisions to make about a lot of players. It’s easy to get carried away when we perform like we did last night. Part of me now thinks Arteta could theoretically build his team around a spine of Mustafi, David Luiz, Xhaka and Ceballos. But we need to remember that all players have purple patches and momentum is a massive thing. I hope Arteta is able to see past upturns in form and outstanding singular performances because as fans we find that impossible. Let’s not forget,… Read more »
I’m not worried that Ceballos’ form is just a purple patch. He’s always been a big talent, and being regularly selected in the Spain squad at his age given the options they have is proof. It was his professionalism and character that I doubted – based on his poor relationship with Zidane and revolting opinions expressed in his late teens. But he’s been as hardworking as anyone, and I very much doubt Bellerin would be mates with him if he hadn’t ditched those views I wouldn’t judge his indifferent form under Emery as basically everyone bar Auba and Leno were… Read more »
Yep, I think I agree with most of this, well put! I wasn’t necessarily referring to just Cellabos but more a general point in terms of our schizophrenic opinions of Arsenal players. For example, Xhaka has been amazing since Arteta’s arrival. He’s actually looked close to world class in a few games. I can’t work out if he’s just benefiting from a manager who protects him a lot more and motivates him or if he truly is a special player that we just haven’t quite used correctly. There’s going to be some tough decisions going forward. There are some players… Read more »
That hug he gave Arteta at the final whistle was intense! (And sure looked like a good sign of the relationship between the two.) A few weeks ago I was thinking to myself that I shouldn’t overrate Ceballos, I’d need to see him (along with a few others) perform well in this really challenging run of games. That would be really telling and would show whether or not he’s the kind of guy we would want going forward as we hopefully make progress back toward being one of England’s top teams. Let’s just say he’s easily exceeded any hopes I… Read more »
And did you guys notice he hurriedly took off his “warm-down” yellow jersey as he ran on the pitch? Guess he wanted to celebrate in style! 🙂
I’ll keep him just for the sheer passionate-emotion that he brings.
I’d love to think so. He is currently playing for a contract somewhere and would his attitude return to what we saw earlier in the season easily. Just saying that he has that in his locker and we’ve been burnt before on long contracts.
We should really buy him instead of another loan, if the reported 25 M fee is true this would be a bargain.
I feel like the following transfer period is truly a significant one in terms of finally having a proper manager again who has to be given the necessary funds in order to reduce the gap between us and the top teams.
Ball is on the KSE side for now, hopefully they’ll do the right thing…..
100%. 25 million Euros is a bargain these days. However if a second loan deal is possible then why not, especially with an option to purchase at a set price.
Be careful, it seems they don’t offer an option to buy him, but an obligation.If we could afford to buy him immediately for the reported price, I don’t see how such loan+obligation would make any sense. That would only be reasonable, if we really have no funds at the moment but for some reason had such funds next summer. If a loan + option was on the table, that would make the most sense, but I also understand Real Madrid. It’s a bit like he is their Guendouzi and it seems Zidane doesn’t want to use him any more at… Read more »
It’s hard to envisage him being crap. It’s his first season and he’s had to adapt his game. The performance levels have been there consistently for quite a while now. His work ethic suggests he’s unlikely to regress and if anything will only improve. The only risk I see would be injury
“if we really have no funds at the moment but for some reason had such funds next summer” — isn’t that the case though? You’d hope they can sell tickets again by next summer which puts cash in the till, and also you’d have to guess at better odds for Europa League at least next season to bring in something like 40M (of course one result could bring that in this year!)
Torreira/Xhaka/Ceballos rotate around two DM positions + hopefully one new signing for an attacking midfielder would be a decent core, I think.
Plus Ozil’s wage off the books would almost cover the whole fee
Also it would effectively give us an extra year on the contract at lower wages.He currently earns £45k/week, which is a very cost-efficient wage if he starts for us. Assuming he gets a 4 year contract on similar wahes to other 1st team midfielders upon signing (between Torreira’s 70k and Xhaka’s £100,00) we’d pay him half the money for his first year, while having him until 2025, rather than full wages for his first year until 2024. When you add in the fact that in a year the Emirates will be full again and Ozil will be off the payroll,… Read more »
I don’t see a single advantage of buying him instead of loaning him with an option to buy.
The latter would secure the player in Arsenal in the long term and save money in this transfer window to strengthen other key positions in the squad.
It seems like an absolute win.
Exactly, it’s better we get him on loan with option to buy then concentrate on other positions like CB, CM & CAM
Partey
Upamenaco
James/Courtinho
Grealish and Benramha even better. Ake for centre back.
The form of Ceballos has been great, but only brief. I think that a loan makes a lot of sense before committing to a long contract.
But if he performs well and the market picks up he doubles in price. A loan with a commitment to buy would confirm he’s our player and free up money for other signings.
The irony is (if we can find the funds) this is a great time to buy. The valuations are going to be so much lower right now. It should be seen as an opportunity
Tell us more of this new fangled science
A good manager and training can turn a player around
If only this had been discovered a few years ago at the club
20 mill seems about right though
20 million would be a very good deal in my opinion. I think an option to buy at that price is a great deal. If Arteta likes him he must see potential for improvement. Once the market has improved again that price could look very cheap indeed. I’d be tempted to just do the deal now if we can.
He’s definitely looking better the more he integrates.
Yeah, I agree, totally worth it at that price. And you know, I wonder if the Kroenkes can be convinced to go over-budget this summer if there are some good deals to be had on the market. It would be a risk, but hoping that the football economy begins to rebound next year, there could be some opportunities for them to make some profits in the long run on anyone they buy this summer (younger players, of course).
Sensible enough this! And may be add a clause to convert it to a permanent deal if we wanted at the end of next season. Greedy much?
“However, they’re not ruling out the possibility of a second loan deal but one which comes with an obligation to buy at the end of it – a fee of around €20m has been mooted.”
Your greediness is (almost) granted; only thing is the obligation to buy instead of an option to buy.
Ceballos deserves a spot on this team. He has worked for it, and brings the Spanish quick feet in tight situations we badly need. I would even suggest adding another of his quick feet type (especially Spanish) to join him here as a 10 for chemistry sakes. Keep that gunner.
Or a final season for free agent Santi to play as a pivot when xhaka is tired/rested/suspended!!
He’s going to sign for Xavi’s team in Qatar
Thanks Blogs. Now I feel Al Sadd.
€20m for a Spanish international midfielder.
That’s overly simplistic of course but get it done lads.
Get it done!
The past few weeks have been a revelation for this lad. Since lockdown, he has come on leaps and bounds – more Arteta magic at work. If the clubs can agree, then it would be great to see him sign.
Get this deal done please….
Add
Upamenaco
Partey
Willian ( free)
Courtinho (loan)
If we lose Matteo then replace him with Donny Van Beek of Ajax
I was impressed with Ceballos in recent weeks so i’d be happy if he stays with us.
But I still think midfield is the most problematic area for us, we didn’t create enough going forward this season and didn’t stop counters effectively (altought that really improved under Arteta imo). Not sure if that is down to the players (who i rate individually), the shape of the team or other facors.. but i still see midfield as the most important area to strengthen.
It’s clear Real Madrid can’t buy big this season and have no cash. Silent Stan should stump up 20 and offer it All to them in one hit, none of this paying them over 5 year malarkey.
They would jump at it.
We then pay Stanley back the 20m over 5 years instead of paying real over 5 years.
Agreed it would be nice if he invested that 20m but we all now that ain’t gonna happen.
I think him staying on should be dependent on who else we keep. It’s easy to forget how bad our midfield is after two big wins, but we need a huge improvement there. I think Ceballos is a more modern fit than Xhaka/Torreira, so if one or both of them were to go I’d be open to retaining him. But if we keep those two, I think we have to improve on what Ceballos has offered on average to have any hope of a better finish next year.
For the right price, yes. 25 million is pushing it though. He’s been okay this season. Let’s not be foolishoy taken in to overpaying to one of the big two. (Ala Cedric Suarez)
He’s been an excellent loan, unlike May others we’ve had over the years. I just hope the reports of him being a Franco supporter are false. I know I should keep politics out of it, and if Arteta, a Catalan, doesn’t mind, who am I to raise an objection? But it still bothers.
I believe Arteta is from the Basque region and not Catalan?
Yep Arteta is Basque like Unai, but he does speak Catalan fluently, as well as about a dozen other languages it seems.
Dani’s best friend at the club is Bellerin, so hopefully he’s set him back on the right path.
This is a great solution. I think we have to consider several potential loans to strengthen for next season to push back into the CL. Ceballos defintely worthy of continuing with as he has developed an understanding with Granit to build on. Love his forward play, still some moments against Liverpool and City where he was dispossessed (took unnecessary risk) n\in dangerous areas but he is a fast improving player and it will be more difficult should Arteta have to rebuild midfield from scratch. At very least Ceballos has been with Arteta for half a season and qabsorbed much of… Read more »
lovely Arsenal now ….but please be firm in the next matches…do not be too confident then careless happening again !!!!