Arsenal are top of the Premier League and flying. That should help them sign a hot Spanish striker and keep Gabriel Martinelli.
ARSENAL LINKED WITH SPANISH STRIKER
You might not yet know the name but you soon will – Ferran Jutglà joined Club Brugge this summer for a few pennies from Barcelona after failing to break through in Spain.
But six goals and three assists in the Belgian league later and Jutglà is hot property, with his two strikes in the Champions League – against Porto and Atletico Madrid – making half of Europe sit up and take notice.
todofichajes claim that chief among his suitors are Arsenal, who will be very pleased to hear that the striker is available for less than £9m.
MARTINELLI IN LINE FOR ‘HUGE’ PAY HIKE
Even before ripping Trent Alexander-Arnold a new one on Sunday afternoon, Gabriel Martinelli was having a phenomenal start to the season. He now has four goals and two assists in his nine Premier League games and has become the scourge of right-backs.
There was talk last week of Chelsea being interested in Martinelli but now Football Insider claim that ‘Arsenal are in advanced talks to agree a new contract with Gabriel Martinelli’ and that this new deal would see him commit to the Gunners until 2026 and would include a “huge” pay hike.
Maybe Arsenal will not have to sell a player to challenge at the top of the table, after all.
CHELSEA LOOK AT MOUNT ALTERNATIVES
The Daily Telegraph admit that Mason Mount will probably stay at Chelsea – he ‘has one full season left on his existing terms and there is an expectation of him extending but it could take time, with talks starting over the summer and no agreement as yet’ – and yet they claim that the club have looked at alternatives to the Englishman if he chooses not to renew.
Those alternatives are said to be Roma’s Lorenzo Pellegrini and Villarreal’s Yéremy Pino. The former has been strongly linked with Liverpool and Tottenham in recent years while the latter is just 19 and would cost ‘upwards of £40million’. But we’re not sure quite why this is an open discussion when we really can’t see Mount opting not to stay at Chelsea.
BARCELONA RELUCTANTLY TARGET NEVES
‘Martín Zubimendi was the midfielder chosen by Xavi Hernández and Barça’s technical leadership to replace Sergio Busquets during the next season,’ is the opening line in Sport, with the Real Sociedad player clearly seen as the chosen one. But Zubimendi – who has just one cap for Spain – is in no rush at all and is happy to stay with his club.
So ‘Ruben Neves is the other candidate , although Xavi is less convinced by his technical performance’. It doesn’t sound like they are very interested, but we imagine that Neves would jump at the chance anyway.
