Arsenal are in talks with Lazio over the transfer of forward Joel Campbell, with the Gunners holding firm on their £7.5million valuation of the forward.
Campbell has been linked to a whole host of clubs this summer, including Real Sociedad and several Serie A sides. Gazzetta report on Saturday that another Italian club, Lazio – are keen on signing Campbell.
Whilst Arsene Wenger has recently backed Campbell publicly, there is the feeling that the forward is disposable. But Arsenal may be holding up any potential sale as they wait on potential incomings upfront.
The Gunners have been linked with moves for the likes of Karim Benzema, Robert Lewandowski and more – but if none of them are able to join, Wenger may choose to give Campbell another chance. With Danny Welbeck injured, Theo Walcott and Olivier Giroud seem Arsenal’s only options up front, and there are also limited options on the left since Lukas Podolski’s departure and Serge Gnabry’s loan move to West Brom. Loan moves for Chuba Akpom and Yaya Sanogo have also seen the clubs attacking options reduce.
So far negotiations for Campbell to leave have broken down due to Arsenal’s valuation of the player. Palermo are one of a few clubs to have held deep negotiations with the Gunners, but still no deal has been reached.
Campbell is only 23 and has proven himself in Europe and for the national team at the World Cup, so you can understand Arsenal’s valuation of the player.
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“At the moment he is here and personally I would like to keep him,” Wenger told Arsenal’s official website.
“I will have to sit down with Joel because I rate him highly as a player and personally if he stays here I am very happy,” he added.
Although I feel Campbell doesn’t fit our philosophy, I do think that if we don’t sign another forward this summer, we need him to stick around. It seems that at this moment, Wenger feels the same way.