Arsenal can copy clever Chelsea tactic as Mikel Arteta and Edu make January transfer plans



Mikel Arteta and director of football Edu are seeking to reshape Arsenal’s transfer strategies, making the Gunners more efficient and profitable in the market.

Prior to the summer, a lot of criticism had been levelled at the club for making costly transfer deals for players with little to no sell-on value, with deals for Willian and David Luiz pointed to in particular.

A clear shift was seen earlier this year, however, with the likes of Ben White, Aaron Ramsdale, Sambi Lokonga and Martin Odegaard brought in.

Plenty of money was spent but the deals were done with a faith that a profit can be turned on each player further down the line should they depart.

A report from the Athletic has further detailed how the Gunners plan to enhance their business in the coming windows including the targeting of release clauses.

It states: “With the backing provided by the ownership, the hope is to take advantage of a distressed market, looking for chances to use their financial muscle, and exploit opportunities such as release clauses, as they did when signing [Thomas] Partey from Atletico Madrid for £45million.”

It is not just the incoming culture Arsenal want to change in the transfer market, however.

Past seasons have seen a number of players run down their contracts at the Emirates and leave either for free or on the cheap.

On this front, the Gunners are looking to copy Chelsea’s success. At Stamford Bridge, director Marina Granovskaia has an excellent track record of negotiating new deals for even fringe players, ensuring that the Blues receive a good price for any sale.

The likes of Tammy Abraham, Fikayo Tomori and Marc Guehi all left the club for at least £30million in the summer, covering the fee paid for Romelu Lukaku in the process.

“Arsenal hope to learn from the likes of Chelsea by extending contracts to preserve market value,” the Athletic‘s report goes on to state.

“One such case is William Saliba: the young French defender has two and a half years remaining on the contract he signed upon joining the club in 2019, so Arsenal may well look to renew the 20-year-old’s deal to protect their investment.”

Saliba has spent the current campaign on loan in France with Marseille and has impressed under Jorge Sampaoli, but his future at Arsenal remains uncertain.

If the Gunners are to learn from their London rivals, this would be a good place to start.





Source link