According to The Athletic, Eddie Nketiah’s proposed move to Nottingham Forest is off.
After failing with a £25 million offer last week, it’s claimed Forest agreed a deal worth up to £30 million with Arsenal but they couldn’t finalise personal terms with the England international.
Nketiah had previously agreed personal terms with Marseille but the French side couldn’t match the Gunners’ asking price.
All in all, it’s a frustrating situation for player and club. That said, with a week remaining of the transfer window there’s still time for him to start a new chapter in his career. Crystal Palace are long-term suitors and said to still hold interest.
Nketiah was on the bench for Arsenal’s 2-0 win at Aston Villa yesterday but wasn’t called upon. His inclusion came against the backdrop of a new injury to teammate Gabriel Jesus.
The Brazil international picked up a groin issue on Thursday and has been sent for an MRI to determine its seriousness. Mikel Arteta claimed yesterday that his side is short on numbers but suggested in his pre-Villa press conference that a striker was not on his shopping list.
Balls
What happens when you give players like him £100,000 a week. Most clubs that would even want him don’t have a single player on their books on £100,000+ a week. Such a stupid thing to do with nothing to warrant it either
What happens if you work for a big firm that pays you two times what a small company can pay you? What a stupid firm? They should have thought about how difficult it would for you to find a job with a small company.
Are you familiar with maths? You should look into it. It might help you understand the decision.
By careful, Jack!
You’re being too negative by stating the bleeding obvious!
You’ll get downvoted to hell!
Who hurt you?
He just says what he sees. Who hurt you that you’re so fragile that you have to follow the herd for likes an comment section.
Can’t believe we’d pay someone a good wage for labor? Jfc go outside.
See also, Reiss Nelson.
This is one of the main reasons–not the only one, but very important–that the club are struggling so badly. I th9ink we can probably avoid relegation, but it will be a close-run thing.
Thoughts and prayers to The Arsenal xxx
He was going to leave on a free. So we gave him a 5 year deal on good money. Either he bangs or we get a fee when we sell him. It’s been 2 years so we’ve spent 10 mio. If we sold him for 20mio that’s a decent outcome for us and would give buyer some money left to pay his wages. Unfortunately Arsenal are sensitive to their reputation as bad sellers and are digging in – forgetting their game plan on this one. Trying to look serious by asking 30 mio and expecting a club to pay 100… Read more »
It’s hardly naive when he has agreed personal terms with Marseille. The sensible thing would be to get back round the table on it. Speak to Eddie’s representatives and understand why it’s fallen over, then look at whether we can do anything within the transfer agreement to subsidise his wage package up to whatever he agreed with Marseille. Reputation preserved, deal happens. That said, I expect this could have a lot to do with Palace being able to meet Eddie’s demands but not wanting to pay the fee.
Marseille signed Wahi…
I think you’re looking at that deal through the lens of the current status of the squad and club. Summer 2022 was a very different time for us.
Greedy twat. Take a bit less and play
I’d probably opt to stay at the best team in Europe for another season and win a few titles hopefully for more money, than play for a relegation candidate too…
Cuts both ways. We could’ve accepted a lower fee from Marseille where he had already agreed personal terms. The club were entitled to hold out for a better offer then, but so is he now.
Go easy, the poor lad is probably getting horrendous abuse on Twitter as we speak. He’s 25yo, the next contract is huge for him, Nottingham Forrest are relegation fodder and we took away his opportunity to play for the 2nd or 3rd biggest club in France by not accepting their offer. Who here would walk away from 15.6 million left on a contract
Agreed
We would expect him to honour his contract and the club should do the same. It’s not his fault he was offered what he was and he has every right to look out for his best interests. I hope he leaves and gets playing time too but let’s not default to pushing the billionaire Kroenke agenda to get that.
Would you voluntarily take a significant pay cut?
I wouldn’t tbh, but not playing football for a year is going to be really hard core.
This time next year he’ll be 26 and the clock is ticking on his career…
THE PROBLEM WAS THE RELEGATION CLAUSE. His wages would’ve been cut by 80% if they are relegated. He said no because he has other options. That’s absolutely what any of us would do. STOP calling our players names.
So tired of Nketiah. Lower your wage demands, or enjoy your random Cup starts.
In fairness, he’s not demanded more playing time.
What a trait.
Don’t give him a minute . He has been a lightweight his whole career.
Would you accept a lower wage at your job to make someone else happy?
People make these decisions all the time, and for myriad reasons. I work in the public sector and make a lot less than I would to do the same job in the private sector. Job security and quality of life/time with my family are my main drivers. It’s not about making someone else happy, it’s about making himself happy. If wasting away on the bench at Arsenal for more money is his preference, so be it, but this notion that nobody in his right mind would ever take a pay cut is totally invalid.
Or he could continue to be employed by the club he’s contracted to, which just so happens to be the club that was happy to give him a long term contract?
So tired of randos online thinking they know best for ppl they’ve never met, in an industry they’ve never come close to working in.
Maybe this suggests there’s something else out there his agency team is looking at that we’re not yet aware of. Still think highly unlikely he’s still an Arsenal player come Saturday..
Palace.
Too late for a £30m transfer plus £100k per week wage to be sorted in a few days, that’s a huge investment.
Maybe Eddie will get a loan but I suspect he’ll be with us for 12 more months.
Genuine question. How do you know any of that?
Just opinion, like everyone else.
This might be related to Jesus’s injury. He might be out for the long term and it will make sense to keep Nketiah till January at least.
God help us if Eddie is the answer. Never going to shift him, all on Arteta/Edu with that contract.
Anyone else slightly suspicious about the Jesus injury? Probably nothing but the fact that he didn’t start on the opening day after being talked up so much just gives me a slight hunch something might be brewing. Would be a surprise at this point of the window particularly with his wages but strange things do happen .
You think he licked both his palms and feigned a cough to get a day off school ? No need for Jesus to fake an injury. Just run around for 20 minutes and a real one will show up. He’s a Lemon.
It really wouldn’t, not if we want to win the league. We need much better back up. Many don’t like the truth but he is championship level at best.
If by any chance he stays with us, I don’t want to hear a word about him wanting to play more minutes.
He has never complained or been a disruption. He might not be at the level we need, but he has been the model pro in every way, so this kind comment is totally unwarranted.
Oh god just go. Fluked a new contract off the back of “not being lacazette”, was patently never good enough for us, now so stupidly overpaid that we’re gonna be lumbered with him again.
He is represented by the same agent as saka, who was also up for renewal. Would you rather have had eddie on decreased wages and saka at city?
Loyalty goes both ways
How are you talking about an arsenal youth player like this?
It’s gross.
If I had to choose between Eddie, who’s been at the club since he was a teenager & has actually contributed something to the Arsenal, or a keyboard warrior that thinks it’s possible to “fluke” a professional contract, I know which one I want to just go…..
With ESR you always had the feeling he was frustrated with lack of playing time. The other two? Not at all.
Quite clear we sold the only player out of the three that actually belonged at Arsenal talent-wise. Quite shambolic if come next week he’s the only one out of the three that has left
So true.
Completely agree. I didn’t want to see Smith-Rowe leave and so far he’s made a flying start to his time at Fulham. I would have him on the left wing where he shined for us ahead of either Martinelli or Trossard, I think he’s better than both. Unfortunately Arteta wouldn’t give him a proper chance after he returned from injury and that ship has sailed.
On the left side I think ESR is good and possesses a different skill set from Martineli and Trossard. However I won’t say he is better than either of them.
On the ball, he’s a dream, but off the ball he wasn’t at our current level. Look at the way we demand all our front three players to coordinate the press and hunt down the ball. That’s just not ESR’s game.
My cousin, who made a perfectly decent living as an accountant, once got offered a job, tax free, in Dubai with a 50% pay rise. He took it telling everybody he’d “just be there for a couple of years to pay off the bulk off the mortgage” then be right back to carry on with his life. He got himself a maid, an Audi, an expensive rented apartment and a decade later he’s never come back despite his girlfriend eventually leaving him and him telling his sister he’s unhappy every time they talk. Nketiah and Nelson both seem to be… Read more »
just a little friendly reminder: neither you or anybody in this comment section knows absolutely nothing about those player’s motivations, issues, expectations or concerns. you don’t know why they do what they do; you don’t even know what they do to begin with. even less what they did or why when they were young. so please acknowledge this before having an opinion on something you know nothing about and choosing to share it online. it’s not fun when it involves actual human beings (who you’re supposed to be supportive of btw) and it just leads to miserable conversations.
Mate, football is 90 percent a cartoon. The comments section of fan blog is 100 percent a bit of fun while sitting on toilet. Reese Nelson’s mom is not reading this.
Poor excuse for poor behavior.
For those of us who would sell a kidney for the chance to play professional football, financial recompense would come so far down the list of priorities that it’s mind boggling players don’t move for want of better personal terms.
Not knowing the ins and outs of the stumbling block aside, it’s just another reminder that this is first and foremost a job for the players.
You’re talking about two or our academy lads, I think that means that we can assume that they have dreamed of playing at our stadium specifically for a long time. This narrative that they are somehow trying to take the club for a ride doesn’t ring true to me but then none of us is in possession of the full facts so none of us can claim to know what is really going on.
Kinda sounds like your cousin is happy in Dubai but just want to tell you
Bloody hell! Why don’t I ever get to make mistakes like that?
Hate to break it to you bud but your cousin got a new family now. He is minted and doesn’t wanna share.
Same thing happened to a mate of mine. Went to Dubai as an accountant on a higher, tax free wage & is still there over a decade later.
Only difference is he doesn’t pretend as though he hates it. If he did, he’d just leave. Not sure what any of that has to do with Eddie or Forest though
Go easy on him, we don’t know all the details. He’s still a Gunner for the time being. His next move is massive for him, he’ll make the right move eventually.
Oh ffs. This was potentially THE deal of the Summer if we could have got 30mil. Seriously pissed off. I’m not necessarily blaming Eddie outright here, why take a pay cut when you don’t need to? Instead, we could have agreed on 25 mil and Eddie could have got his personal deal and everyone would have been happy. Was being stubborn over 5 mil worth it? Now eeee stick with him and probably no chance of getting a new forward in. 🤬
I think we’re entitled to set our price, I think he’s entitled to demand his wage. Some of these “small” (billionaire-owned) clubs are being too clever by half.
What was never true is that we *need* to sell Eddie to buy a forward. That’s just convenient messaging from the Kroenkes.
FFS
People slating Eddie for not lowering wage expectations, ask yourself if you would yourself ever consider that in your career. If any club wants Eddie, first they need to agree with the club for the transfer fees and then with him for the wages. As simple as that. Just because we need the funds to facilitate a move for a striker/fwd(i assume) doesn’t mean Eddie has to sing the same company tune. Bunch of you will probably hate me for saying this, but come on. He’s grown up with us. We owe that much to him. Let him get a… Read more »
I’m not ready for sensible yet
100%. Supposedly it’s his agency causing problems with fees. Remember the Balugon saga we had with them.
Doing their job, what’s best for Arsenal should be the least of their concerns.
Spot on. We are so swift at drawing conclusions without knowing the details. He could have been offered a significant pay cut at Forest. No one here knows.
We just can’t get rid of this guy.
Go somewhere and play Nketiah. Your time at Arsenal is done.
Who do we replace him with? We are already a couple of players short upfront. If Eddie and Reiss go we’re a couple of injuries away from starting a front 3 of martinelli troussard and an academy player.
If we’re serious about a title challenge Nketiah isn’t someone we can rely on even as a squad player. He doesn’t suit our style of play and isn’t at the right level. Adding to the forward line is something we’ve had plenty of time to do. We have the funds from last season’s Champion’s League campaign and qualification and shouldn’t need to rely on sales. It’s one thing to balance the books but what’s more important is having a ready squad. With the numbers available to us it seems necessary we bring in at least one additional forward player because… Read more »
Agree, I think we’re short upfront. It’s a blindspot of Arteta’s to me. The Eddie and Reiss contracts and the money wasted on Viera when we already had a superior player in Smith-Rowe. I think there’s more chance of buying the Spanish keeper than a forward. Maybe he thinks Nwaneri is ready to backup odegaard and Saka?.
With Vieira allowed to leave it looks like Nwaneri will be the right 8 rotation option. He may also be backup to Saka but this seems less likely as he’s mostly played in midfield during pre season.
Looks an interior player to me from what I’ve seen of him, that leaves Reiss who’s right footed. They’ve sort of painted themselves into a corner I think. They played Viera on the right preseason, more as a last resort probably to find a role for him, he looked even more of the pace there than he did in midfield or on the left.
Are you the Chelsea manager in disguise? Sounds like something he said about his bloated squad repeatedly this week.
Agents what more can you say, parasites in the world of football nothing g more to say on this sad n sorry subject our previous manager would shoot them as they came to Forest.
Dunno about you guys but I am reluctant to take less money to go to a worse place.
Exactly. But why he was given an exorbitant wage to begin with is the real problem. This is on Mikel and edu, not Eddie.
Just remove him from the squad and let him come to terms with fact he is not wanted
All the hate for Eddie here is shameful. He’s one of our own. He worked his balls off. Acting like it’s his fault he isn’t at the level we’d like is just completely wrong. It’s embarrassing. Even Chelsea fans treat their academy kids with respect (unlike their garbage club).
Well said.
As I’ve said on here many times last few weeks, we can all laugh at Chelsea but their academy is way better run than ours…
They’ve literally spent the summer kicking selling each of their academy players for less than the cost of the worse player they replaced them with. Nothing about that club is well run.
Hmm, not really mate:
https://www.theguardian.com/football/article/2024/aug/21/gilmour-to-gallagher-chelsea-academy-players-sold-in-the-boehly-era-for-208m
And how much have they spent on replacements? I think it’s way over £1 billion now. If you only count income and ignore expenditure, every business looks amazing.
He is on absolutely crazy wages tbf. No surprise we are struggling to get a smaller club to take him on. Wages don’t match the level of the player unfortunately.
The logic given at the time for the size of the contract was that it would “supposedly safeguard the value of the asset in the market”. Hmm.
Forests owner has been having difficulty paying the players at his other team in Greece for some time, why did we think they could afford eddie
Everyone bitching about his wage, we don’t even know it that was a factor. He might just not want to move to Wolverhampton. It’s not exactly Marseille.
Obviously we have no idea if this is true but if it is this appears to be the only transfer in modern history where the transfer fee has been agreed before the personal terms
Dumb on both sides. He’s wasting a career to just sit on a bench. The Club overpaid for a player the manager doesn’t think can play.
Unless we’ve got a CF lined up (doubtful) I’m not sure we can sell Eddie. Two false 9s (Havertz and Trossard) and an injury-prone Jesus is extremely light for a title challenge and a deep European run.
And it’s been like that for quite a while now…not exactly something out the blue to deal with…
Wow the vitriol towards our academy player Eddie here is appalling. I’m sometimes ashamed to be part of this community. It’s almost as bad as the rest of them. He’s looking after his own interests as any of us would. It changes nothing. Edu has to find another buyer and bring us one or two forwards before the window closes or it’s another season on bridesmaids. Pretty simple equation.
Also, based on how some of the imbeciles in the arsenal fan base have reacted towards one of their own, it would be perfect karma for him to move somewhere and score a hatrick against us.
100% agree. It’s shameful to see our fans calling for us to push him out of the club. That’s what Chelsea do to their academy kids and they are rightly condemned for it. I’m glad our club is better than that, even if a depressing percentage of our fans are not.
Are you having a laugh?!! This has been a summer of shame for our academy…look at all the talent let go for fck all! Have you been asleep last 3 months??!!
Are you ok?
Yup
However bar super expansive mbappe and probably osimhem…I struggle to see a centre forward that is guaranteed to be a significant upgrade on what we already have…We are already paying superstar wages to havertz and jesus (500k weekly combine) and I don’t think its a good idea to let them rot on the bench for another new expansive superstar incomer. + Trossard has proven last season that he can do a good job as a third string center forward too. I don’t mind another body or two if Eddie goes …but it has to be a player or players that… Read more »
NO! I demand a Messi Regen!
I’d accept a 20% pay cut on 100k PW, to play every week and elevate my status and kick start my career. But I wouldn’t accept a 20% cut on a grand a week.
Which salary does Nketiah pull?
How long is your career compared to a footballers? Do you get a pension?
Yeah, you wouldn’t.
People really don’t think the wages through. They lose half of it to tax. So 50k a week. They get a 10 year stint on big money if they’re incredibly lucky, whereas a normal career is 50 odd years. So, divide 50k a week by 5. That’s about 120k a year. It’s good money, but if someone suggested you drop from 120k to 100k, you would say no.
Unless they are earning Ronaldo / Mbappe money, the salary really does matter.
Arsenal didn’t want to accept an offer from Marseille that was below their valuation. Nketiah doesn’t want to accept an offer from Forest that’s below what he’s currently making. Maybe he’ll be sold, maybe he’ll be loaned, maybe he’ll stay, but he’s just as entitled to reject a move to Forest as Arsenal were to reject the offer from Marseille.
Totally speculating, but my guess is that Eddie just doesn’t want to join Forest. I’d be surprised if Marseille offered him more money, and he was keen to go there. Playing for a top team rather than an unstable and bloated relegation-threatened team sounds much more appealing…
Bingo—looks like he’s going to Palace now. I imagine they told him they’d bid for him if he turned down Forest. Stay in London and go to a solid mid-table club, play for Glasner rather than Nuno…easy decision.
It’s not that I necessarily want him gone, it’s that we appear to have a one out one in policy this summer (from what I keep reading).
So in order to upgrade up front we need to say goodbye to such players and this news doesn’t help.
The comment section on Arseblog has gotten 10x worse since they stopped using Twitter. I feel like all the Twitter slime came here.