Arsenal Told To Pay €30m To Sign Striker After Agreeing Personal Terms

The January transfer window may have slammed shut but clubs will still be working hard behind the scenes at identifying targets for the summer, so we’ll bring you all the latest news, gossip and rumours. Today, Arsenal must pay big money to sign Alvaro Morata.

Arsenal have been told by Real Madrid that they will need to pay €30m (£25m) to sign Alvaro Morata this summer after agreeing personal terms with the striker, according to the Metro.

The 21-year-old has been strongly linked with a move to north London over the past 12 months and we were reported to have failed with a bid to bring the striker to England on a six-month loan deal back in January.

Spanish journalist Guillem Balague claimed two weeks ago that Morata has now grown tired of his lack of first team opportunities at Real and has agreed terms to join Arsenal on a permanent deal if the two clubs can agree a fee.

The Metro are now reporting that while Madrid are open to the idea of selling the Spanish under-21 star, they have informed the Gunners that it will take a bid of €30m (£25m) to persuade them to cash in.

It remains to be seen whether Arsene Wenger will sanction such an offer for the youngster but the newspaper suggests that Morata has his ‘heart set on the move’ to Arsenal and is keen for a deal to be agreed when official talks between the clubs start at the end of the season.

I think it’s safe to say that a striker will be on the agenda for Wenger this summer as we have little back-up behind Olivier Giroud. Nicklas Bendtner is certain to leave when his contract expires in June while Yaya Sanogo is still very raw and doesn’t look ready to command a first team place, so we need to bring in at least one forward.

Morata is a tall, powerful frontman who would be very-much a like-for-like replacement for Giroud and he’d certainly be an upgrade on Sanogo, so in that sense he’d be a good signing, but I’m not sure he’s worth the £25m Real want.

If we could get him for nearer £15m then he’d be an excellent buy, but I’d also like to see us bring in someone who can offer something different to Giroud. A pacey striker who makes clever runs and stretch opposition defences would be ideal, but we’ll have to see what the boss has in mind this summer.

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