Your morning Arsenal transfer roundup on Wednesday, July 12.
Mbappe claim
Arsenal have been linked with a shock move for Paris Saint-Germain superstar Kylian Mbappe in recent times.
Mbappe is now into the final 12 months of his contract with the Ligue 1 giants but neither the Gunners, nor Liverpool, are actively pursuing a deal to sign the French international, according to journalist Ben Jacobs.
Speaking about the prolific attacker's future to CaughtOffside, Jacobs said: "Right now PSG are just waiting on Mbappe. But if there is no breakthrough they will actively put him on the market. Real Madrid would still prefer to wait until next summer and sign Mbappe on a free, but would consider moving now if the price is right. Quite clearly if it’s sky high, with wages and agent fees on top, there will be very few clubs able to afford the deal – probably only the Saudi ones, and Mbappe does not appear to have any interest in moving to the Saudi Pro League.
"What I am told, though, is PIF dealmakers would love to take him for a year, even knowing he would then leave for Real or elsewhere. But Mbappe wants to compete in the Champions League and not take a one-season exodus from it. Liverpool and Arsenal have also been linked with Mbappe but neither are actively considering him."
READ MORE: Arsenal news and transfers LIVE: £50m Declan Rice discount, Kylian Mbappe deal, Timber confirmed
Partey offers
According to transfer expert Fabrizio Romano, offers for Arsenal holding midfielder Thomas Partey are set to be received by the north London club very soon.
Speaking to CaughtOffside about Partey's future, Romano said: "I'm told Saudi clubs will try to approach Thomas Partey again in the next few days. On the player side, the priority remains European football and he wants to continue in Europe. Let’s see if Saudi clubs will be able to change his mind.
"As previously reported, it will also be important to persuade Arsenal because they want an important fee to let Partey go.”
Alan Smith's advice
Arsenal legend Alan Smith has advised his old side to try and sell five players during the summer transfer window, including in-demand striker Folarin Balogun.
When discussing Balogun, Smith told Gambling Zone, via Football365 : "He’s a valuable player who can probably fetch £30million plus after the season he had in France. With financial fair play and all the rest of it, that that could help Arsenal a fair bit.”
He added: "Nicolas Pepe, I haven’t seen too much about him in the papers regarding a move. He was bought for far too much money, and it’d be great to recoup some of that because I don’t think Arteta is a massive fan. You can’t hang your hat on him. Players like Tavares and Lokonga, promising youngsters, could move on.
"Arteta certainly does need to get two or three players off of the wage bill. Rob Holding has been linked with a move away. There’s not much potential for him to get into the team now.
"I think you’d be loathe to let him go because he just seems like such a good team player. Holding is great in the dressing room and he will always give it his all but he is probably a level below where you need to be for Arsenal – he may have to leave."
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