Calum Chambers is 24 years old and since joining Arsenal in 2014, the versatile Englishman has never really settled into the first team.
Last season he impressed for the relegated Fulham, eventually winning player of the season for the London club, excelling in a defensive midfield role.
Now back at Arsenal, the club are not really showing signs of selling him, but I think it would be a good time to cash in.
On the back of a good season, Chambers stock must be high. In a market where young English players are demanding ridiculous fees, Calum could surely be sold for in excess of £20million and for a club with limited funds, that £20million could be very useful if reinvested properly.
William Saliba is set to join but won’t become part of the squad for another season. Arsenal need a top class centre back this summer and with the money they could get for Chambers, they may be able to sign one.
So why don’t I think he should stay at Arsenal? Whilst I love the idea of young English players playing regularly, I just don’t think Chambers has the quality to be in and around the Arsenal first team. He’s not a central defender, he’s too slow to play at right back and in midfield, there are too many players ahead of him.
The likes of Matteo Guendouzi, aged just 20, is already a better midfielder, in my opinion. Ainsley Maitland-Niles has also done more to deserve opportunities in midfield ahead of Chambers.
If the club opt to keep Calum around purely from a defensive numbers perspective, they risk two things. The first is poor performances, as I’ve said before, he is not good enough to play for the Arsenal first team. The second is his value halving and demand for his signature falling if he has a poor season.
The latest soccer football odds highlight the Gunners as outsiders for the Premier League title and they are certainly that. Arsenal need to be more ruthless in the market to get closer to those top teams.
The Gunners must take a more cut throat approach to their transfer dealings moving forward with this new structure. Since Ivan Gazidis left, a lot has been promised with Edu Gaspar the latest addition to the backroom staff.
But so far this summer, there’s been very little activity. Yes, plenty of players have been sold but there has only been one arrival (Martinell) and no players have been actively shifted for a respectable amount.
When you consider there are many players like Chambers in Mkhitaryan, Elneny, Kolasinac, who should probably be sold, you do wonder what the new team are up to. I do have faith that long term the Gunners are shaping themselves to be in a good position, but there certainly needs to be a higher turnover on this squad of players for this team to be successful. The club need to show a little less respect for players and in the case of Chambers, he should be sold whilst his market value is peaking.
Should he move on, I would wish Chambers all the best, but the Englishman is, in my opinion, never going to be a regular in this Arsenal team and for that reason this new negotiation team should be actively trying to sell and recoup as much as possible in the process.