Arsenal have set a £30million asking price for the transfer of goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale as he attracts interest from Nottingham Forest and Southampton this summer, CaughtOffside understands.
Sources close to the situation have informed CaughtOffside that Ramsdale is expected to leave Arsenal this summer as he looks to get back to playing regularly after falling down the pecking order in Mikel Arteta’s side last season, with David Raya now the undisputed number one for the Gunners.
As things stand, it is understood that although Forest and Southampton are interested in Ramsdale, they would not be willing to pay Arsenal’s £30m asking price for the England international, so it remains to be seen if the north London giants will end up lowering their demands, or if anyone else perhaps joins the race and indicates they’d be prepared to pay up.
Meanwhile, Arsenal are still interested in signing Wolves ‘keeper Daniel Bentley as their new backup ‘keeper, with talks ongoing despite Arsenal previously seeing two bids rejected for the 31-year-old.
Ramsdale transfer exit to pave the way for Bentley to Arsenal deal?
It is felt that Arsenal and Wolves could end up agreeing a fee under £1million for Bentley, though he could also be offered a new deal to stay at Molineux as he’s also considered a reliable backup ‘keeper there too.
Arsenal will want to ensure they’re not in too much trouble if Raya gets injured or suspended at some point, so bringing in an experienced figure like Bentley could be a useful option.
At the same time, though, Karl Hein has shown some promise in pre-season so far, and some AFC supporters will surely feel the 22-year-old could be good enough to serve as the club’s second choice, without the need for a new signing in that position, even if Bentley should come pretty cheap.