Rodrygo to Arsenal hinges on two factors as Romano reveals Real Madrid ‘meeting’ boost
Arsenal have been given hope of signing Real Madrid star Rodrygo by Fabrizio Romano, but can Andrea Berta “work his magic”?
The Gunners have signed Martin Zubimendi, Noni Madueke, Kepa Arrizabalaga and Christian Norgaard for a combined fee of £123m so far this summer and have a agreed a £55m deal with Sporting for Viktor Gyokeres, whose medical is planned for this week ahead of his move to the Emirates.
Cristhian Mosquera’s £17m signing is also thought to be imminent, with the Valencia centre-back now in Singapore with the Arsenal squad to complete his medical.
READ MORE: Rodrygo set to top terrible list of Real Madrid stars moving to the Premier League
After Gyokeres and Mosquera, sporting director Berta is working to sign a new forward, with Arsenal expert Charles Watts claiming on Wednesday that a list of three options has been drawn up by the Gunners chief.
Watts wrote on his CaughtOffside column: ‘Once the Gyokeres deal is confirmed I think Arsenal’s attention in the market will shift towards trying to move some players on.
‘The squad does look a bit bulky now, with a few players clearly going to be struggling for minutes next season.
‘So Arsenal will look to try and get some outgoings sorted, potentially for players like Fabio Vieira, Sambi Lokonga, Reiss Nelson and maybe Oleksandr Zinchenko.
‘I do still feel like there is scope to bring in one more new addition before the window closes, however. There is still a long time left in the market and it wouldn’t shock me if Arsenal still look to do something.
‘We know they are looking at options for that left-sided attacking role, with Eberechi Eze, Rodrygo and Anthony Gordon believed to be of interest.’
A report on Thursday claimed Eze has ‘told friends he’s joining Arsenal this summer’ and the Crystal Palace star is a ‘serious option’ being considered by the Gunners chiefs.
But it’s been widely reported that Rodrygo is Mikel Arteta’s ‘dream’ target and Romano offered hope of a move to the Premier League this summer, with Liverpool also linked with a move for the Real Madrid star.
“At the moment, nothing is happening today, or at the moment, for Rodrygo. Why? Because the player is on holiday and his agents are talking to Real Madrid,” the Italian journalist said on his YouTube channel.
“They already had a meeting last week to just present their own position. In that meeting, from what I heard, Real Madrid confirmed they are open to letting Rodrygo go.
“Now it is Rodrygo together with his agents who has to decide what he wants to do. Stay at Real Madrid and compete for a spot or leave and explore all the options.
“There are options in the Premier League, there are options in other countries, including PSG. So there are several options.”
MORE ARSENAL COVERAGE ON F365
👉 Arsenal must ‘learn from Sporting’ over sales as £35m Liverpool transfer laughably remains record deal
👉 ‘No talks’ – Rodrygo path clear for Arsenal as Liverpool move for PL alternative ‘inevitable’
Transfer expert Ben Jacobs claims Arsenal ‘don’t see great value’ in Rodrygo with his asking price currently set at €90m, but believes a bit of Berta “magic” and the sale of one of two players could result in the Brazilian moving to the Emirates this summer.
Jacobs told Latte Firm: “I think Arsenal love Rodrygo, there’s no denying that, but for it to happen, Trossard or Martinelli must depart and the overall package would have to be deemed valuable.
“Andrea Berta proved with Viktor Gyokeres that he can drive prices down; the end deal was actually five million less, and that’s Andrea Berta all over – a bit of a maverick in the market.
“If he says he wants to leave, Real are open to sell for around 90 million euros, but you’ve got the wage and the agent fees, so Arsenal don’t see a great deal of value in the deal.
“If they’re going to move, they will need to bring in an important fee for either Trossard or Martinelli and secondly, Berta would have to work his magic to try and drive the overall cost of the deal down.”
