Arsenal open Andre Silva talks over £34m transfer

No player is safe. No position is safe. And no potential transfer target across Europe is safe from being the subject of Arsenal interest, discussion or speculation. Given how outstanding Andre Silva was last season, it’s of little surprise two and two have made four.

Only three players scored more goals across the continent in 2020/21; two of them are regarded as two of the greatest footballers of all time and the third one would have scooped the Ballon d’Or were it being held last year. In the height of the summer transfer window, that makes Andre Silva hot property.

28 goals and seven assists in 32 Bundesliga outings is exceptional productivity, and five more than Alexandre Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored combined in 28 fewer matches.

Arsenal’s major issue last season was not scoring enough. Glancing at over £100m worth of forward talent and seeing that return makes that clear. Of course, a prolific striker is not the only solution to that issue, as demonstrated with the £50m pursuit of Ben White which is arguably more to do with attacking output than defensive, but it would help.

Arsenal open Andre Silva talks over £34m transfer with Eintracht Frankfurt in summer window as Alexandre Lacazette replacement

Mikel Arteta also can’t rely on academy kids like Emile Smith Rowe and Bukayo Saka to be hitting double figures either, while an uninspiring midfield needs revamping to aid in build-up and stability. Full-backs who aren’t either single-faceted or perennially injured would help, too.

There are plenty of actions to take to aid the miserable goal return.

It is, however, tough to avoid the strikers across Europe who makes scoring look easy. Those who always find the appropriate finish for the occasion and have an intelligence to be in the right place at the right time. Alexander Isak is showing signs of that with Real Sociedad and Sweden, but he’d also cost double what Eintracht Frankfurt want for Silva.

As per the Transfer Window Podcast, featuring journalists Ian McGarry and Duncan Castles – the latter who first broke the Ruben Neves news – Arsenal have opened talks with Silva’s representatives to express their interest. They’re keen, but so are RB Leipzig, and Frankfurt would let him leave for £34m.

They’ve informed his camp that they will need to sell before buying, earmarking Alexandre Lacazette as the player who will be moved on in order to bring in Silva. It will be interesting to see whether this gathers more traction elsewhere to give it greater credibility.

In terms of the player though, if anything it’s surprising he hasn’t been linked with more clubs given his outstanding scoring rates. Beyond that, his overall profile is enticing and taking a closer look at him you can see why any club would be interested.

Continued…