August 19, (THEWILL) – English Premier League side Arsenal are working round the clock to wrap up transfer deals for Real Madrid midfielder Martin Odegaard, who was previously at the Emirates on loan, and Sheffield United goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale.
The hope of the Gunners’ side is to complete these deals, bring the pair of players in for their medicals and to sign their contracts so as to get them as registered squad players, all before the Friday to make them eligible for Sunday’s derby against Chelsea at the Emirates.
They would need to be signed and registered by the deadline, which is midday on Friday. At this stage of the negotiations, the fees for both players, which are worth a combined total of over £50million, have been agreed but the Gunners are sorting out medicals and personal terms, with no expected hurdles.
An initial fee of £24 million was paid to Sheffield United for Ramsdale and it could rise by a further £6m through add-ons and bonuses. These can be triggered if the England goalkeeper makes numerous first-team appearances and Arsenal qualify for Europe multiple times with him.
Although the Championship side initially demanded £40m, a compromise was struck after Ramsdale himself expressed his desire to join the Emirates club. Slavisa Jokanovic, the Sheffield United boss therefore acted in the best interest for player and club. He said: “We need to evaluate the situation. We need to check what is best for us now, now that we have lost Aaron.
“Listen, I will repeat one more time, it’s not what I wanted. It is difficult to stop this kind of situation and it’s a huge deal for the club, after being relegated from the Premier League. From my side, he was our best option and we wanted to be working with our best players.
“Aaron was our first option and we are now looking at what is the best step for us. It was not perfect preparation to lose Aaron the day before the game but we can not say we were surprised by it.”
In the other deal, as THEWILL reported, Arsenal will part with about £30m for the attacking midfielder and Odegaard has arrived in London to undergo his medical and sign for the Gunners. He will resume swiftly from where he stopped at the end of his loan move last season but this time as a permanent member of the Gunners’ squad.
The initial desire for Arsenal to keep Odegaard was met by Real Madrid’s reluctance to sell him, especially as Carlo Ancelotti needed to put his own team together as the new manager at the Santiago Bernabeu. With the softening of the Spanish club last week, Arsenal have acted swiftly to bring Odegaard back to the Arsenal midfield.
On a personal note, Odegaard also wanted to get a shirt playing for Real but the 22-year-old appears to be keen to resume work again under manager Mikel Arteta with his opportunities having a better chance in London. The idea of regular first-team football and the welcoming feel of living and working in London was topmost priority.
Both players will help Arsenal fill the cracks that are left in the side especially as was drastically revealed on the opening day 2-0 loss to EPL new boys Brentford and the tough fixtures that lie ahead such as Sunday’s tie against UEFA Champions Chelsea which will be followed by an away tie against League champions Manchester City on Sunday, August 28.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
