Arsenal consider Ruben Neves player plus cash transfer

Ainsley Maitland-Niles Could be Included as Arsenal Eye Ruben Never Transfer

It looked for all the world as if Ainsley Maitland-Niles wouldn’t even be spoken about in Arsenal terms this summer as the full-back looked primed for a £15-£20m move to Wolves just under a year ago.

A deal had been agreed between both parties in and around the FA Cup final, before Arteta pulled the plug on what would have been a welcome cash injection by encouraging the Hale Ender to stay in north London and fight for his place.

That turned out to be an opportunity missed as Maitland-Niles barely featured the following term, with the decision to keep him in the end making precious little sense. It would have been with the hope of Sead Kolasinac moving on, a deal that didn’t materialise, but still the 23-year-old started just four Premier League games before his January move to West Brom.

Starting 14 of the 15 games he had with the Baggies in central midfield has seen his stock stay about the same – considering he’s fallen out of England favour – and Simon Collings of the Evening Standard states he could be used to persuade Wolves to part with Neves on a reduced fee.

Having spent six months in the area, a return to the midlands may appeal to Maitland-Niles, although he would likely seek some reassurances over what role he would play under new boss Bruno Lage.

Maitland-Niles would be of great use to Arteta if he sucked it up and decided to play as a right-back for Arsenal Football Club. He just doesn’t want that (fair play to him, but also not) and a sale has to happen.

This isn’t the only deal this summer Arsenal may look to include players in, with Eddie Nketiah someone who won’t fetch a colossal fee but could be used as makeweight for the likes of Yves Bissouma.

Either way, there is no future for Maitland-Niles at Arsenal and if it Neves they’re after, bargaining down that fee with a player of previous interest Wolves makes sense.