We love a good old swap deal, we haven’t heard a lot about them since the days of Ashley Cole and William Gallas, but in these final few days of the window, they appear to be back with a vengeance. In this article, we take a look at three linked deals that could surprise us all.
1 – Theo Walcott + cash for Virgil van Dijk
This is a swap deal that dreams are made of. Whilst Liverpool appear to be leading the chase for van Dijk, Arsenal perhaps need a player like him more than anything else at the moment. The Dutch defender would add an enormous amount of quality to the Gunners backline, but with an asking price at around £70million, Arsenal could perhaps only get a deal done by involving a player, and reports now suggest that Southampton may have interest in Theo Walcott. The Saints lack goalscorers in their team at the moment and with Walcott just warming the bench for Arsenal currently, they are said to be interested in signing him. The English international could be used as a makeweight in a deal for the disgruntled van Dijk as a way of potentially lowering the amount of cash needed to sign him. Something like £35million + Walcott would be a brilliant deal for both parties. The Sun are one of a number of sources to suggest a homecoming could be on for Walcott, who joined Arsenal from Southampton when he was just 16.