Nottingham Forest ‘close to agreeing fee’ for Arsenal star as they ‘refuse to give up’ on Mexican

Nottingham Forest are getting closer to agreeing a fee with Arsenal for England international Eddie Nketiah, according to reports.

Nketiah, who has one cap for England, has been a bit-part player for the Gunners over the last four seasons with the 25-year-old never making more than ten Premier League starts in a single campaign.

He made 37 appearances in all competitions for Arsenal last term but could only manage six goals for Mikel Arteta’s side as they finished as runners-up in the Premier League.

Arsenal could bring in a new forward of their own this summer and they are willing to allow Nketiah to leave the Emirates Stadium for the right price.

And now a report in The Athletic has claimed that Nottingham Forest ‘close to agreeing a fee with Arsenal for the transfer’ of Nketiah, while talks over personal terms are also moving forward.

The report adds:

‘Forest had seen an opening bid worth £25million including add-ons rejected, having identified the England forward as their top target to bolster their attack.

‘Arsenal are looking for a figure more in the region of £30-35million and negotiations continue as Forest push to bring Nketiah to the City Ground.’

Feyenoord forward Santiago Gimenez seems to be a possibility as well as Nketiah for Nottingham Forest with Dutch outlet Voetbal International claiming that Nottingham Forest are ‘refusing to give up’ on the Mexico international.

Forest are ‘ trying to get to the table’ again as they made a new offer worth €30m for Gimenez and the Premier League side are hoping that Feyenoord ‘will at least talk and show that there is room for negotiation’.

The report adds: ‘ The English know that Feyenoord has a higher amount in mind. The club is also dependent on Gimenez. The striker previously stated that he is not yet interested in a move to Nottingham.’

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Transfer expert Fabrizio Romano also gave an update on a number of Arsenal transfer stories earlier on Wednesday.

Romano wrote in his Caught Offside column : “Mikel Merino to Arsenal is still on – the Gunners are absolutely going to proceed with that one, it’s a work in progress as there are still some details to clarify, but the deal is on, the expectation is still that he will become an Arsenal player.

“In terms of outgoings, Eddie Nketiah is one of the options for Nottingham Forest, though they also like Santiago Gimenez, so let’s see how that one will progress, but it’s another option for Nketiah after a deal with Marseille collapsed.

“Aaron Ramsdale also remains one to watch before the end of the summer. To be clear, Arsenal want a permanent sale for Ramsdale – they keep rejecting loan possibilities. Wolves and also Bournemouth are interested, both are attentive to the situation but neither club are submitting a permanent transfer proposal so far. My expectation is still for Ramsdale to leave Arsenal, in any case.”