Arsenal report: Gunners in talks to sign £40m Dutch wonderkid

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta
(Image credit: Getty)

Arsenal are in talks to sign one of the most exciting young talents in the Netherlands right now.

That's according to reports that claim that the Gunners have already made inroads into replacing captain Alexandre Lacazette, who is out of contract at the end of the season and potentially Eddie Nketiah, also available for free this summer.

Nketiah had a storming midweek trip to Stamford Bridge, scoring twice in an emphatic 4-2 win over Chelsea. Though England U21's record goalscorer has been turned down contract extensions and been rumoured to be wanted by Borussia Monchengladbach and Crystal Palace, there is now talk that he could be persuaded to stay.

Eddie Nketiah

(Image credit: PA)

Still, at least one new forward will be heading through the door with the Mail reporting that it could well be Cody Gakpo.

The PSV attacker can play across a frontline and though he has featured on the left predominantly for the Eindhoven giants, it's thought that Mikel Arteta could use him centrally. The Basque boss favours fluidity in his line-up and in a frontline alongside the likes of Emile Smith Rowe, Gabriel Martinelli and Bukayo Saka, the prodigious Dutchman could well flourish. 

This season, Gakpo has 18 goals and 15 assists in 42 appearances in all competitions.

Cody Gakpo

(Image credit: PA)

One issue around landing the 22-year-old, however, might be that he has only recently signed a new contract. 

PSV tied the player down in January, reportedly on the agreement that he could leave in the summer if the right bid came in – but with the Boeren said to be demanding around £30m-£40m for Gakpo, the north Londoners may well be deterred. 

Arsenal are also said to be in the market for midfield reinforcements and another player to shore up the lefthand side of the defence. Kieran Tierney's injury and Nuno Tavares's inconsistency has left Arteta a little light towards the tail end of the campaign.

Gakpo is valued at around £23m by Transfermarkt.

More Arsenal stories

Arsenal continue to be linked to new forwards, with Alexandre Lacazette and Eddie Nketiah both out of contract at the end of this season. Paulo Dybala is one player who has reportedly caught the eye, as has Marcel Sabizter of Bayern Munich.

Florian Grillitsch has been talked about in relation to a move, a Premier League right-back has been linked, while the likes of Lucas Paqueta and Ruben Neves have both been touted for Emirates transfers. In terms of outgoings, there are reports linking key defender Gabriel with a departure to Barcelona this summer.

Nacho Monreal, meanwhile, recently discussed Mesut Ozil's exit from the club with FFT.

Mark White
Content Editor

Mark White is the Digital Content Editor at FourFourTwo. During his time on the brand, Mark has written three cover features on Mikel Arteta, Martin Odegaard and the Invincibles, and has written pieces on subjects ranging from Sir Bobby Robson’s time at Barcelona to the career of Robinho. An encyclopedia of football trivia and collector of shirts, he first joined the team back in 2020 as a staff writer.