Edu is set to hand Arsenal a small boost ahead of the upcoming transfer window following the imminent sale of Mateo Guendouzi. The 23-year-old was sent out on an initial season-long loan to Marseille after falling out of favour in north London, and he now looks set to pen a permanent deal with the French giants.
He featured 55 times for Jorge Sampaoli's side, directly contributing towards 19 goals. The midfielder's impressive displays attracted the attention of Didier Deschamps this season, with the France boss awarding him a senior international debut.
Guendouzi, who joined the Gunners in 2018 from Lorient for around £7million, now looks set to continue his great vein of form at the Stade Velodrome due to a variable in his loan deal implemented by Edu. Goal claim that he has a €10.5 million (£9million) option-to-buy clause, despite CIES Football Observatory valuing the Frenchman at around £34million.
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The clause was penned into the deal which took the midfielder to Marseille last summer, which is now set to be triggered. The French side originally paid around £850,000 to take the Frenchman on loan for the season.
It's believed that Guendouzi is one of several players Mikel Arteta is keen to move on in the coming weeks, with Lucas Torreira reportedly on the to-go list. The sales of various players will help Edu fund the Arsenal boss' big expectations ahead of the summer.
When asked if he expects another busy transfer window in terms of player recruitment, Arteta said: "I am expecting so, yes. I think both competitions [the Champions League and Europa League] require a much larger squad because the amount of games you play is much bigger in both, so I don’t think [which you qualify for] makes a lot of difference or changes a lot.
"If you can financially afford it and we don’t have to do the turnaround in the squad that we’ve had to do, if you ask me what I want it’s 22 outfield players and three goalkeepers. You have to come a long way in the aspects that you see on the pitch, it’s a lot of things that have to be put in place, and that takes time."
Arsenal are in the market for a centre-forward after allowing Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to join Barcelona during the January transfer window, while Alexandre Lacazette is also set to leave when his contract expires. But, the Gunners may need to sell more than just Guendouzi and Torreira to fuel a move for a star-studded striker.
