Arsenal face key Reiss Nelson transfer decision

Coming into August there was an air of the summer transfer window suddenly beginning to open up. Stuck in first gear, there needed to be some movement to butter up the stiffness and make other pieces fall into place.

Some big deals are being made within the Premier League to hopefully loosen up the market, yet Arsenal are still finding it difficult to ship their unwanted stars for the simple reason that they’re not especially wanted elsewhere, either.

Hale End has the potential to be Arsenal’s greatest source of income this season, largely down to the players in question boasting significantly more attractive profiles than the more senior members of the squad on wages beyond their worth.

Being homegrown, young and Premier League ready, the likes of Joe Willock, for example, are significantly more marketable – even if they’ve only had what is essentially four months of excellent form – down to the age, potential and suitability.

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Arsenal face key Reiss Nelson transfer move with Crystal Palace interested in signing Hale End forward in summer window

The situation with Reiss Nelson had the potential to be similar but other factors have made his future less clear cut.

His decision not to leave on loan last January – one that can be disputed as being mutual with the club or circumstantially difficult to arrange – has severely damaged his value. Willock would have been nowhere near the £20-£25m price tag on his head were it not for his spell on Tyneside, and while the same spike would’ve been impossible with Nelson, a temporary move had the scope to add a good few million on his head.

Instead he stayed put, flirted about with the Under-23 squad and barely left London Colney. Now Arsenal are in a position where he has only one year remaining on his deal and there is little in the way of monetary gain knocking on their door.

Bundesliga sides continue to be mentioned, as do Olympiacos, but given that German sides showed an interest back in the winter and none of the moves, it seems, appealed to either Nelson or Arsenal it explains the decision to offer him a new deal.

Just as with Eddie Nketiah, who rightly rejected the proposal made to him, a new deal was handed to Nelson to sign with a view to loaning him out for the coming season – given the lack of buyers meeting the Gunners’ valuation – and then a permanent move could be sanctioned at a later date.

One club has, however, moved ahead of the pack who could pose an ideal option for Arsenal and Nelson, so long as there is a change in transfer stance.

Continued…