Arsenal are close to agreeing to a deal with Southampton that will see Theo Walcott return to his former club.
Pellegrino will want to use some of the money he has from Virgil van Dijk’s sale to strengthen the squad elsewhere. The Southampton manager has confirmed he wants to bring in “a couple of players minimum” and Fresh Arsenal understands that talks have already taken place for a deal involving Walcott.
Arsenal can try to demand a good amount of money for Walcott, who despite not playing regularly recently, has a good record in terms of supplying goals and assists, he’s Premier League proven and Southampton need a player that can provide goals consistently.
Arsenal are willing to do business with Southampton, despite Wenger saying publicly that he would like to keep hold of Walcott. Arsenal have other attacking targets like Nabil Fekir and Hirving Lozano. Should a deal for Walcott be agreed, the Gunners are very likely to sign a replacement, especially with the fact that Alexis Sanchez is also likely to leave the club, either in January or at the end of the season.
If the Gunners do replace Walcott internally, then it will be Reiss Nelson who is likely to be rewarded with more first-team minutes in his favoured, more advanced role.
The fee for Walcott is likely to be in the region of £20million, and the only real sticking point for a deal is likely to be the Englishman’s wages, as he currently earns £140,000 per week at the Emirates. Southampton will be reluctant to pay over £100,000 per week for the forward who turns 29 in March.