Arsenal looked set to receive a transfer windfall in January when former midfielder Matteo Guendouzi was heavily linked with a move to Aston Villa. The Frenchman ended up remaining in his home country with Marseille, but his time in France could come to an end at the climax of the 2022/23 season.
Following a chaotic three years in north London, Guendouzi was loaned to Marseille ahead of the 2021/22 campaign and completed a permanent move to the French club after they activated the £9million buy option in the contract of his temporary spell.
Perhaps the 23-year-old's most talked about moment in an Arsenal shirt came in June 2020 after he got involved in an on-pitch spat with former Brighton striker Neal Maupay which, to many, spelled the end of his time at Arsenal, but the young midfielder has since claimed that this was not the case.
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Speaking about the clash with Maupay to beIN Sports, as relayed by Goal France, he said: "Journalists used this excuse to say that we had a bad relationship and that's why I stopped playing and left Arsenal. Not at all. It’s a gesture like many on the pitch. There's a lot of tension sometimes, a lot of problems on the pitch. In any case, it has nothing to do with all that."
As per CIES Football Observatory, Guendouzi is currently worth €35 million (£30.7 million) and with four goals from over 20 appearances to his name around the turn of the year, French outlet L'Equipe reported that an unnamed Premier League club, that turned out to be Villa, made an offer for Guendouzi. Despite the seven-time capped France international no longer being on Arsenal's books a potential Premier League return was of interest to the Gunners as, according to The Athletic, they had inserted a sell-on clause upon his departure, meaning they will pocket a percentage of the transfer fee if he does leave the Orange Velodrome.
No move occurring in the winter window indicated the boat had passed on Arsenal's hopes of receiving a windfall from any move for Guendouzi. However, according to RMC's Stéphan Guy, Marseille manager Igor Tudor does not hold Guendouzi in high regard and therefore he could be sold in the summer.
This latest development could see Villa return for Guendouzi ahead of the 2023/24 campaign after no alternative central midfielder was purchased by the Villains in January. Current manager at Villa Park Unai Emery signed Guendouzi at Arsenal back in the summer of 2018 and could still remain keen on a reunion five years on from first signing him.
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