Introduction

This is a continuation of the earlier silly season post. I guess Lemmy doesn’t let you edit posts older than a certain age.

Below is a list of transfer rumours for possible incoming transfers during the summer transfer window of 2024, along with some key pieces of information. ‘Likelihood’ is based on information at the time of last review, and brief reasoning is given for each rumour. But ultimately it’s purely subjective.

Possibly out-bound players are limited to those who have seen some first team minutes. The line for exclusion for the list is fuzzy right now (Patino is on it Biereth is not). But it might get changed as we go along. Confirmed out includes all confirmed players, including Academy players who have been released.

The aim is for this list to be updated every couple of days. Information will be pulled from the daily discussion threads, along with other sources.

Transfer reliability sources list is available here.

Legend

Likelihood

Overall how likely a move to us seems.

• Very Unlikely (1/10)
• Unlikely (2-3/10)
• Possible (4-6/10)
• Likely (7-8/10)
• Very Likely (9-10/10)

Trend

The direction in which the likelihood seems to be heading with recent developments.

• 🔼 = Move to us trending upwards
• 🔽 = Move to us trending downwards
• ➖ = No change in trend
• 🆕 = New transfer rumour

Last Updated

Aug 31, 2024, 00:51 UTC

The domestic transfer window is now closed!

Players In

Potential Ins List

Ordered by last name.

Dan Bentley

• Positions: Goalkeeper
• Current club: Wolves
• Likelihood: Unlikely (2/10) ➖ - According to solid sources an attempt was made to bring our former Academy player back as a back-up for Raya. But the first offer was described by Wolves as being ‘derisory’. A second higher offer was made and apparently also rejected. Talk went cold a while ago, and apparently we’ve moved on to other prospects.
• Highest news source: 2

Justin Bijlow

• Positions: Goalkeeper
• Current club: Feyenoord
• Likelihood: Very Unlikely (1/10) 🔽 - This deal had been cooling off for a while anyway. But since he failed his medical at Southampton, it’s surely dead now.
• Highest news source: 3

Brian Brobbey

• Positions: Striker
• Current club: Ajax
• Likelihood: Unlikely (2/10) 🔽 - this one never had much substance. The chatter was that we were competing with Man United for the young Dutch striker. But it lacked credibility and didn’t go anywhere.
• Highest news source: 4

Dominic Calvert-Lewin

• Positions: Striker
• Current club: Everton
• Likelihood: Unlikely (3/10) 🆕 - Another late-comer to this silly season. We (along with several other PL clubs) are being linked with the injury-prone Everton striker who only has a year left on his contract and wants out of Merseyside. Seems unlikely given that there are better options available.

Kingsley Coman

• Positions: Left Wing
• Current club: Bayern Munich
• Likelihood: Unlikely (3/10) 🆕 - The 28-year-old is set to quit Bayern. He wants to leave and they want him to leave. And he’s being linked to us. Seems unlikely considering that he would demand a pricey wage, and left wing is not one of the positions at the top of our list for strengthening the squad. But some solid sources are saying Edu and Arteta are considering an offer for him.
• Highest news source: 2

Diogo Costa

• Positions: Goalkeeper
• Current club: Porto
• Likelihood: Unlikely (2/10) 🔽 - Still lots of time on his current contract, but Porto need to sell some players. However, he wouldn’t be cheap at around 70m, which is a lot for a back-up. And this one has grown very cold.
• Highest news source: 4

Fabricio Diaz

• Positions: Defensive Midfield
• Current Club: Al-Gharafa
• Likelihood: Unlikely (3/10) ➖ - The young Uruguayan would be fairly affordable, but the rumours on this one are very flimsy right now. It’s possible, but we need better sources.
• Highest news source: 4

Patrick Dorgu

• Positions: Left Back
• Current club: Lecce
• Likelihood: Unlikely (3/10) ➖ - A new rumour links us with Dorgu. Though the fact that we are apparently close to completing a move for Calafiori makes this one seem like hot air. Maybe he’s being looked at as a back-up in case the Calafiori deal fails. Or maybe it’s just nonsense.
• Highest news source: 3

Marcus Edwards

• Positions: Right Wing
• Current club: Sporting CP
• Likelihood: Unlikely (2/10) ➖ - The former spuds academy graduate did well at CP last season, but at 25 he doesn’t seem like an upgrade on our own Reiss Nelson. And sources for this rumour have not been especially reliable.
• Highest news source: 4

Eberechi Eze

• Positions: Right Wing, Attacking Midfield
• Current club: Crystal Palace
• Likelihood: Unlikely (3/10) ➖ - A former academy player who we released early, Eze hasn’t been shy about his enduring fondness for us. And he’s coming of a fantastic season with Palace. But the chatter never really reached a point of credibility. Seems like he’ll now either stay at Palace this season, or be part of a last minute scramble by one of the big six - but probably not us, given his high price.
• Highest news source: 4

Evan Ferguson

• Positions: Striker
• Current club: Brighton & Hove Albion
• Likelihood: Possible (4/10) 🆕 - It’s honestly surprising we haven’t been linked with him before now. The 19-year-old was on fire last season, and he ticks a lot of the boxes for the kind of striker we’d be looking for - tall, strong, fast, great aerial presence, good footwork. He’s even got the injury record to fit right in with us! Apparently we and Man City are monitoring him in light of Brentford’s interest in him.
• Highest news source: 4

Joan Garcia

• Positions: Goalkeeper
• Current club: Espanyol
• Likelihood: Possible (4/10) 🔽 - Was starting to look likely due to his profile and his connection with our goalkeeping coach Cana. But the deal has proved problematic, so Arteta and Edu are apparently moving on.
• Highest news source: 2

Lutsharel Geertruida

• Positions: Right Back, Centreback
• Current club: Feyenoord
• Likelihood: Unlikely (3/10) ➖ - Yet another Feyenoord player being linked to us - this time a versatile defender. Rumours are that he wouldn’t be too expensive (around 30m). But he seems more likely to go to Liverpool or another club. And our involvement in the rumours has grown cold.
• Highest news source: 4

Morgan Gibbs-White

• Positions: Attacking Midfield
• Current club: Nottingham Forest
• Likelihood: Unlikely (3/10) ➖ - Arteta has appreciated Gibbs-White’s abilities for a while. And the newest chatter is that we’re contemplating a bid for the 24 year old. But sources are currently thin, and him coming in might disrupt the development of Nwanieri for little gain.

Santiago Gimenez

• Positions: Striker
• Current club: Feyenoord
• Likelihood: Unlikely (3/10) ➖ - The young Mexican impressed at Feyenoord last season and has now entered the rumour mill as a possible target for us.
• Highest news source: 3

Joao Gomes

• Positions: Central Midfield
• Current club: Wolverhampton Wanderers
• Likelihood: Unlikely (2/10) ➖ - Another Joao we are supposedly interested in. He wouldn’t cost a fortune, but it still seems an unlikely purchase when we have the talented Nwaneri waiting in the wings.
• Highest news source: 4

Serge Gnabry

• Positions: Right Wing
• Current club: Bayern Munich
• Likelihood: Unlikely (2/10) ➖ - It’s actually surprising our former Academy graduate hasn’t popped up as a potential incoming sooner. But realistically, he would cost too much in both transfer fees and salary costs.
• Highest news source: 3

Anthony Gordon

• Positions: Left Wing
• Current club: Newcastle
• Likelihood: Unlikely (2/10) 🆕 - We’re being linked very late in the window with Gordon. But the chances of Newcastle selling one of their star players seems ridiculously slim.
• Highest news source: 4

Jack Grealish

• Positions: Left Wing
• Current club: Jack Grealish
• Likelihood: Very Unlikely (1/10) ➖ - This rumour appeared recently, but seems very unlikely and credible sources are basically non-existent. Grealish probably isn’t happy he’s not getting more minutes. But he’d be very expensive, and between Martinelli and Trossard we are already well represented on the left wing.
• Highest news source: 4

Marc Guehi

• Positions: Centreback
• Current club: Crystal Palace
• Likelihood: Unlikely (3/10) ➖ - Long been talk of him leaving Palace and moving to a bigger club, and of us being in the mix. But it seems like our name is being used to drum up bids from others, most notably Newcastle.
• Highest news source: 4

Arda Guler

• Positions: Attacking Midfield
• Current club: Real Madrid
• Likelihood: Unlikely (2/10) ➖ - Has looked good in the Euros, so of course rumours linking him to us have begun. But his club letting him go at this point does not seem Realistic.
• Highest news source: 4

Bruno Guimaraes

• Positions: Defensive Midfield
• Current club: Newcastle
• Likelihood: Unlikely (2/10) ➖ - Looked fairly likely a one point, but Newcastle’s defensive midfielder is in hot demand, and seems likely to go to either Roma or Man City right now or just stay at Newcastle.
• Highest news source: 4

Viktor Gyokeres

• Positions: Striker
• Current club: Sporting CP
• Likelihood: Unlikely (3/10) 🔽 - The ongoing, undulating rumour about us trying to sign Gyokeres is still lingering. But at this point it looks unlikely. Not least because we apparently didn’t like the high price Sporting were demanding.
• Highest news source: 4

Quilindschy Hartman

• Positions: Left Back
• Current club: Feyenoord
• Likelihood: Unlikely (2/10) ➖ - This one has been a flash-in-the-pan in the rumour mill. And now we’ve signed Calafiori is looks very unlikely to happen.
• Highest news source: 3

Jorrel Hato

• Positions: Centreback
• Current club: Ajax
• Likelihood: Unlikely (2/10) ➖ - Rumours indicate that Arteta was very keen on Hato. However, the player has said he plans on staying at Ajax next season.
• Highest news source: 4

Alexander Isak

• Positions: Striker
• Current club: Newcastle
• Likelihood: Unlikely (2/10) ➖ - This rumour is now quietening down again. While Isak does look likely to leave Newcastle, his destination is likely somewhere like Chelsea, who are throwing around their silly money again.
• Highest news source: 2

Joshua Kimmich

• Positions: Right Back
• Current club: Bayern Munich
• Likelihood: Unlikely (2/10) ➖ - Player’s contract is ending and he’s likely to leave Munich. But his wage demands and age are off-putting to us. Chatter about us going for Kimmich has gone cold, and the latest news is he might stay at Munich.
• Highest news source: 4

Khvicha Kvaratskhelia

• Positions: Left Wing
• Current club: Napoli
• Likelihood: Very Unlikely (1/10) ➖ - The young Georgian is being very tenuously linked to us. But for around 80 million that seems like nonsense. He’s more likely to go to Liverpool. Or even more likely to stay put at Napoli, who are in the process of drawing up an improved contract to retain him.
• Highest news source: 4

Ademola Lookman

• Positions: Striker
• Current club: Atalanta
• Likelihood: Unlikely (3/10) 🆕 - The Nigerian striker is the latest player to be linked to us. There’s talk of a 50m + Kiwior deal. But right now that looks like idle conjecture considering Kiwioris of interest to some other Italian clubs but not necessarily Atalanta.
• Highest news source: 4

Andriy Lunin

• Positions: Goalkeeper
• Current club: Real Madrid
• Likelihood: Unlikely (3/10) ➖ - Rumours we’ve made a bid for him, but sources are light and the player probably wouldn’t want to play second fiddle to Raya with us.
• Highest news source: 4

Donyell Malen

• Positions: Right Back
• Current club: Borussia Dortmund
• Likelihood: Unlikely (3/10) ➖ - Another of our former Academy graduates who’s been linked to us. He still publicly loves us, but it’s hard to see him coming back just to be Saka’s understudy, especially for the pretty tidy sum that Dortmund would expect.
• Highest news source: 4

Murillo

• Positions: Centreback
• Current club: Nottingham Forest
• Likelihood: Unlikely (2/10) ➖ - He’s now popped up on our transfers radar, in that we might be one of several clubs interested. But no word that we’ve even floated a bid. So it all seems like hot air.
• Highest news source: 4

Rodrigo Muniz

• Positions: Striker
• Current club: Fulham
• Liklihood: Unlikely (2/10) ➖ - Not many solid sources and the rumours have gone cold recently.
• Highest news source: 4

Darwin Nunez

• Positions: Striker
• Current club: Liverpool
• Likelihood: Unlikely (3/10) 🆕 - Another dodgy transfer rumour has us interested in Nunez. It seems unlikely Slott would sell him to a PL rival, even if he’s proven to be unreliable in front of goal. And it also seems unlikely Arteta would put Nunez as his top priority for an emergency striker.

Victor Osimhen

• Positions: Striker
• Current club: Napoli
• Likelihood: Possible (5/10) ➖ - Looked plausible for a while. But even with his price being reduced a lot by Napoli, we never went seriously in for him, probably for a variety of reasons. He now seems torn between a wretched choice between Saudi Arabia and Chelsea, poor guy.
• Highest news source: 2

Adrien Rabiot

• Positions: Attacking Midfield
• Current club: Free Agent
• Likelihood: Unlikely (3/10) ➖ - Wouldn’t be a transfer window without this one coming up again, would it! Unreliable sources are slapping our name as an outside party on him moving. Probably won’t be happening for numerous reasons, but rumours are still fermenting.
• Highest news source: 4

Raphinha

• Positions: Right Wing
• Current club: Barcelona
• Likelihood: Very Unlikely (1/10) ➖ - New chatter has us attempting to get the Brazilian. But this is an old rumour, and apparently the player doesn’t want to leave Barcelona.
• Highest news source: 4

Marcus Rashford

• Positions: Striker, Right Wing
• Current club: Manchester United
• Likelihood: Unlikely (2/10) ➖ - Reliable sources indicate private talks have happened, but wages and attitude may be concerns. And newer rumours say he want to stay at Man United and fight for a place.
• Highest news source: 1

Fabian Ruiz

• Positions: Central Midfield
• Current club: Paris Saint-Germaine
• Likelihood: Unlikely (3/10) ➖ - PSG are apparently open to selling him, and we’ve been listed as a possible destination for him. But solid sources linking him specifically to us are scant right now. So this is likely just conjecture.
• Highest news source: 4

Leroy Sané

• Positions: Right Wing
• Current club: Bayern Munich
• Likelihood: Unlikely (3/10) ➖ - Apparently we are interested in signing him, though he’s not at the top of our list. And he might not be interested in joining us.
• Highest news source: 4

Andreas Skov Olsen

• Positions: Right Wing
• Current club: Club Brugge
• Likelihood: Possible (4/10) 🆕 - The pacey Dane has a great goal scoring rate in the Belgium Jupiler Pro League. Rumours are that we are interested in bringing him in to be a rotation option for Saka. He shouldn’t cost too much, and he can also play in right attacking midfield, so he has the kind of positional versatility Arteta likes. This one has some potential, but time will tell.
• Highest news source: 4

Sam Tickle

• Positions: Goalkeeper
• Current club: Wigan Athletic
• Likelihood: Possible (4/10) 🔽 - Talk is that we are looking at Tickle as a backup for Raya because of his profile, including the fact that he’d be a home-grown player. Whether we go for him probably depends on the Ramsdale situation. Though time is running out on this transfer window. And with so many young and talented keepers already on our books, this one is now looking less plausible.
• Highest news source: 2

Ivan Toney

• Positions: Striker
• Current club: Brentford
• Likelihood: Unlikely (2/10) ➖ - Lots of former Gunners have apparently expressed their conviction that Toney is the panacea to all our problems. But Edu and Arteta seem far less convinced. Not least because Toney and Arteta met a few months ago, and Mikel wasn’t at all impressed with his attitude. He’s now in the final year of his contract, but Brentford have still not received any offers for him and Toney seems to be in a weird no man’s land of not being in demand despite his obvious talent. This deal is surely dead now.
• Highest news source: 3

Viktor Tsygankov

• Positions: Right Wing
• Current club: Girona
• Likelihood: Unlikely (2/10) ➖ - Not many resources to substantiate this yet. and the rumour has now gone very cold.
• Highest news source: 4

Baris Alper Yilmaz

• Positions: Right Wing
• Current club: Galatasaray
• Likelihood: Unlikely (3/10) ➖ - Flimsey third-hand sources claim we have an interest with the winger, along with Liverpool, Dortmund, and half the other clubs in the world. This sounds more and more like agent hyping.

Edon Zhegrova

• Positions: Right Wing
• Current club: Lille
• Likelihood: Unlikely (3/10) ➖ - The Kosovan winger is now being linked to us as a potential new arrival. Not much to go on right now, but his contract with Lille is good until 2026, so they would presumably demand a decent fee. This rumour seems more like idle conjecture at this point.
• Highest news source: 4

Removed Potential Ins List

• Yaser Asprilla - Signed for Girona
• Riccardo Calafiori - Signed for us! See below for link
• Federico Chiesa - Signed for Liverpool
• Désiré Doué - Signed for Paris Saint-Germain
• Artem Dovbyk - Signed for Roma
• Mikayil Faye - Signed for Barcelona
• Ezequiel Fernandez - Signed for Al-Qadsiah FC
• Youssouf Fofana - Signed for AC Milan
• Conor Gallagher - Signed for Atletico Madrid
• Serhou Guirassy - Signed for Borussia Dortmund
• Ferdi Kadıoğlu - Signed for Brighton
• Douglas Luiz - Signed for Juventus
• Kylian Mbappe - Signed for Real Madrid (but was never realistically going to join us)
• Mikel Merino - Signed for us! See below for link
• Neto - Signed for us! See below for link
• Pedro Neto - Joined the countless horde that is Chelsea’s squad
• Joao Neves - Signed for Paris Saint-Germaine
• Dani Olmo - Signed for Barcelona
• Amadou Onana - Signed for Aston Villa
• David Raya - Signed for us! See below for link
• Sergi Roberto - Signed for Como 1907
• Benjamin Sesko - Signed new contract with RB Leipzig
• Xavi Simons: Sent by PSG on a season-long loaned to RB Leipzig
• Dominic Solanke - Signed for the spuds
• Raheem Sterling - Signed for us! See below for link
• Wojciech Szczesny - Retired
• Jean-Clair Todibo - Signed for West Ham
• Nico Williams - Signed for Barcelona
• Joshua Zirkzee - Signed for Manchester United
• Martin Zubimendi - Player has explicitly stated he doesn’t want to sign for us

Confirmed ins

Men’s First Team:

• Riccardo Calafiori - Left-sided defender joins from Bologna.
• Mikel Merino - Central midfielder joins from Real Sociedad.
• Neto - Goalkeeper joins from Bournemouth on season-long loan.
• David Raya - Goalkeeper joins from Brentford United (after season-long loan with us in 2023/24).
• Raheem Sterling - Attacker joins from Chelsea on season-long loan.

Women’s First Team:

• Mariona Caldentey - Striker joins from Barcelona.
• Daphne van Domselaar - Goalkeeper joins from Aston Villa.
• Rosa Kafaji - Striker joins from BK Häcken.

Players Out

Potential Outs List

Ordered by last name.

Gabriel Jesus

• Positions: Striker
• Likelihood: Very Unlikely (1/10) ➖ - Highly regarded by Arteta, and chances of leaving lessen the longer we don’t sign a new striker. With so little time left in the window, and Arteta’s public statements about how we don’t need a new striker, it seems Gabi will be with us for at least another season, regardless of any offers coming in.

Jakub Kiwior

• Positions: Left Back, Central Defence
• Likelihood: Possible (4/10) 🔽 - He’s coveted by some Serie A teams, but we all know what Serie A clubs are like for putting in reasonable offers. Apparently Arteta wants to keep him, and Jakub is content to stay for at least another season. So this one looks just on the ‘maybe’ side of unlikely now.

Thomas Partey

• Positions: Defensive Midfield
• Likelihood: Possible (4/10) ➖ - Wants to stay and any offer would require a large fee. He has fallen down the pecking order, but with other midfielders going out on loan and it being clear he still is seen as an important player, the chances of him leaving are dwindling.

William Saliba

• Positions: Centreback
• Likelihood: Very Unlikely (1/10) 🔽 - Real Madrid seem keen to sign him, but possibly not until next season when he’s down to one year left on his contract. Hopefully Edu and Arteta can get Big Willy to sign a new contract and then they can tell Madrid to get lost!

Kieran Tierney

• Positions: Left Back
• Likelihood: Possible (5/10) ➖ - Doesn’t fit into Arteta’s style of play and wants to move on. Arteta still rates him, but he’s clearly low on the squad pecking order. His recovery from his unfortunate Euro injury has gone well, so his chances of leaving are now on a pretty rapid rise - either via a loan or a permanent deal.

Oleksandr Zinchenko

• Positions: Left Back
• Likelihood: Unlikely (2/10) ➖ - With Calafiori’s arrival, our effervescent Ukrainian fullback moved further down the bench. So a sale seemed possible. However, no offers have come in, despite Kompany’s Bayern Munich seeming interested. And he was just given a new squad number (17).

Removed Potential Outs List

• Karl Hein - Goalkeeper signed a new contract with us
• Charlie Patino - Signed for Deportivo de La Coruna on a permanent deal (see link further down)
• Reiss Nelson - Out on season-long loan to Ipswich
• Fabio Vieira - Going out on loan to Porto, and likely to turn into a permanent deal

Confirmed Outs

Ordered by last name.

Men’s First Team (Permanent Departures):

• Mo Elneny - Contract expired, signed for Al-Jazira FC, and also founded Elneny FC
• Eddie Nketiah - Signed for Crystal Palace
• Aaron Ramsdale - Signed for Southampton
• Emile Smith Rowe - Signed for Fulham
• Cedric Soares - Contract expired

Men’s First Team (Loans):

• Karl Hein - Out on season-long loan to Real Valladolid
• Reiss Nelson - Out on season-long loan to Fulham, and might not return
• Albert Sambi Lokonga - Out on season-long loan with Sevilla, and unlikely to return
• Nuno Tavares - Out on season-long loan with Lazio, and unlikely to return
• Fabio Vieira - Out on season-long loan to Porto, and unlikely to return

Women’s First Team (Permanent Departures):

• Sabrina D’Angelo - Contract expired, signed for Aston Villa
• Cloe Lacasse - Signed for Utah Royals
• Kaylan Marckese - Contract expired, signed for Tampa Bay Sun
• Vivianne Miedema - Contract expired, signed for Manchester City
• Gio Querioz - Signed for Atletico Madrid

Men’s Academy (Permanent Departures):

• Mauro Bandeira - Released
• Omari Benjamin - Released, signed for Everton
• Mika Biereth - Sold to Sturm Graz for about 4m, with a sell-on clause
• Luis Brown - Contract expired, signed for West Ham
• Catalin Cirjan - Released, signed for Dinamo Bucharest
• Noah Cooper - Released
• Amario Cozier-Duberry - Rejected new contract, signed for Brighton
• Henry Davies - Released
• Ovie Ejeheri - Released, signed for Midtjylland
• Taylor Foran - Released, signed for Bromley
• Hubert Graczyk - Released
• James Hillson - Contract expired
• Henry Jeffcott - Released
• Tyreece John-Jules - Contract expired
• Alex Kirk - Released
• Charlie Patino - Sold to Deportivo de La Coruna for about 1m, with a sell-on clause
• James Lannin-Sweet - Released
• Brooke Norton-Cuffy - Signed for Genoa for about 3.5m
• Arthur Okonkwo - Rejected new contract, signed for Wrexham
• Kamarni Ryan - Released
• Kido Taylor-Hart - Contract expired, signed for Bromley
• Reuell Walters - Rejected new contract, signed for Luton

Other Players Of Note

• Lucas Nygaard - Our first Summer signing of 2024, he’s joined our under-21s from FC Nordsjaelland. Won’t be featuring in the first team for a season or two, but one for the future.
• Chido Obi-Martin - Despite our ongoing (and apparently very impressive) attempts to retain the prodigious 16 year old Academy striker, he decided to join the train wreck that is Manchester United.
• Charlie Patino - One of our brightest Academy prospects has joined Deportivo de La Coruna on a permanent deal for 1m + a sell-on clause after failing to force his way into a regular place in the starting XI and with only a year left on his Arsenal contract.
• Tommy Setford - The young English goalkeeper has joined our Academy from Ajax, but is frequently training with the first team. Another one for the future.