Arsenal confident of £28m goalkeeper transfer

And we’re back again. Arsenal and their pursuit for a new goalkeeper this window with a specific profile has managed to stumble its way into the week building up to matchday two of the Premier League season.

A deal that has been an essential piece is business this summer falls into the non-negotiable bracket, as while injuries to goalkeepers aren’t anywhere near as common as they are for outfield players, there is a reason why every team fields one on the bench. Just in case.

If Bernd Leno had got injured against Brentford, the gloves would have been handed over to Karl Hein – an academy graduate without any competitive first team minutes to his name. Fortunately for all the German stayed fit, even if his performance left many not being to adverse to a minor knock.

All of which brings us back to Aaron Ramsdale. He’s someone well known to supporters as he’s gone from being a target, to the only target, to inevitably joining, to not joining after talks collapsed to, yes indeed, joining again.

Arsenal confident of £28m Aaron Ramsdale transfer with Sheffield United as Mikel Arteta closes in on number one goalkeeper target

Reliably informed that a breakdown in talks saw the deal become impossible barring a significant change of stance from either on valuation, The Sheffield Star’s James Shield now reports that Arsenal are preparing their latest offer for the 23-year-old, one they are confident will be enough to tempt Sheffield United’s hand.

With the Blades holding out for an initial £40m and the bids lodged by the Gunners not exceeding £20m upfront, the gap was vast. Well, it appears as if a bridge has been built over the River Why in quick time to find some middle ground, on a fee said to be in the region of £28m.

Considering Arsenal hadn’t offered £20m in an initial payment up until now, it would be a fair assumption to make that this would be the final amount, one made up of add-ons. football.london have the upfront fee at £20m, which falls in line with the report.

Blades boss Slavisa Jokanovic said of the move:

"“Naturally he wants to be a Premier League player. I am talking with him, he believes it can be a good move for himself,” he said. “He is a talented English player and I understand Arsenal are interested, but this is the business. If he is one of the best players in the league his price is high and it’s up to Arsenal if they want him they need to spend a lot of money.”“Arsenal is pushing from one side and I am pulling from a different side.”"

It’s felt that the sudden change of heart is more from the Yorkshire club’s side. Factors including Ramsdale informing his employers of his desire to leave, and that no other senior players have been sold since their relegation from the Premier League meaning the books need balancing, have played their part.

Should we be confident of this going through? Well, maybe? An ever-changing narrative still centres around Arsenal’s admiration for Ramsdale and him being their number one choice, yet as with all deals nothing is ever cut and dry.

Arsenal have found their man and do appear to be getting him closer to what they were willing to pay, so let’s hope the club just get on with it and Ramsdale proves all the doubters wrong. Get it done and move on to the other areas of the squad in dire need of tending to.

If it falls through, again, then more haste with the next target wouldn’t go amiss.