Arsenal have reportedly set a hefty asking price for one of their out-of-favour attackers this summer.
Academy graduate Eddie Nketiah has played third fiddle to Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus in the number nine spot this season, despite managing 36 appearances across all competitions.
Nketiah's numbers hardly stand out, though, as he has recorded just six goals and three assists in that time, albeit including an impressive hat-trick against Sheffield United in October.
The England international has only made the first XI on 10 occasions in the current Premier League campaign, though, and his last top-flight start came in the Gunners' defeat to Fulham on New Year's Eve.
With Arsenal expected to pursue a big-money striker ahead of the 2024-25 season, Nketiah's place at the Emirates appears to be in serious jeopardy, and a sale will likely be considered for the right price this summer.
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Arsenal want club-record fee for Nketiah
According to HITC - via Football365 - Arsenal are happy to part ways with Nketiah during the summer transfer window, but only if an interested party meets their £40m asking price.
Such a fee would represent the Gunners' most expensive sale of all time, outstripping the £35m that Liverpool paid to sign midfielder Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain in the summer of 2017.
Nketiah is not believed to be short of suitors in the Premier League, with all of West Ham United, Crystal Palace, Fulham and Bournemouth supposedly prepared to offer him a top-flight escape route.
The Eagles have long been linked with a swoop for the 24-year-old, while Bournemouth could be in need of a new number nine if the in-demand Dominic Solanke is allowed to depart at the end of the campaign.
Arsenal are rumoured to be one of the clubs interested in prising Solanke away from the Vitality Stadium, but it is unclear whether Nketiah could be used as a bargaining chip in negotiations.
Can Arsenal justify demanding £40m for Nketiah?
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The prospective sale of Nketiah would do wonders for Arsenal's Financial Fair Play standing - not that the Gunners are at risk of any Profit and Sustainability breaches anyway - due to his coveted home-grown status.
Arsenal did not pay a penny to bring Nketiah to the Emirates from Chelsea in 2015, and with his sale therefore going down as pure profit, the North London giants seem well within their rights to hold out for a reasonable fee for a full international, Premier League-proven striker.
Of course, a £40m package would also trump the £34m that Monaco paid for Folarin Balogun on the back of his remarkable Ligue 1 campaign for Reims, but the USA international had not made his mark in England the same way that Nketiah has.
The Englishman still has three years left to run on his contract too - having penned a £100,000-a-week extension back in 2022 - but despite his evident improvement, he continues to divide opinion among Gooners.
Nketiah has stepped up to the plate during Jesus's absences with knee injuries, but barring a couple of assists against Brighton & Hove Albion and Crystal Palace, he has failed to have as much an impact from the bench as Leandro Trossard for example.
Nevertheless, given his exploits in the final third while Jesus has been in the treatment room, Nketiah has done enough to suggest that he can be a reliable option for a top-flight club who can guarantee him first-choice striker status.
Ben Knapton
