'Understand': Journalist says he's heard something different about Arsenal's bid to sign Joan Garcia
Is nearly 'here we go' time? ????
After agreeing to sell Aaron Ramsdale to Southampton, Arsenal are already pushing to sign Joan Garcia from Espanyol as their new number two.
Garcia is said to have stylistic similarities with David Raya, also boasting a remarkable ability to pluck crosses out of the air.
Garcia was superb for Espanyol against Atletico Madrid on Wednesday evening, in what could prove to be his last game for the club.
Espanyol don’t play again until Saturday against Rayo Vallecano, and it would seem that Arsenal hope he’ll already be wearing their colours by then.
If all goes to plan, Garcia may even join his compatriot Mikel Merino on the bench against Brighton & Hove Albion.
That being said, Arsenal have now tabled their first Garcia bid according to reports, which is somewhere around the €20m (£17m) mark.
However, journalist Duncan Castles has just shared that he’s hearing something slightly different.
Arsenal willing to pay Joan Garcia’s full release clause to smash out deal
Judging by the earlier news of Arsenal’s bid, which was well below Garcia’s release clause, it would appear that the club are playing ‘hard ball’, so to speak
However, when sharing his own update on X, Castles said that Arsenal were ready to match the value of the Spaniard’s release clause.
READ MORE: Some decision-makers at Arsenal disagreed with Mikel Arteta signing £27m player this month
Garcia’s release clause reportedly stands at €30m (£25m), a similar fee to the one Arsenal are recouping when selling Ramsdale to Southampton.
Castes said: “Understand that Espanyol informed that Premier League club ready to match value of Spain u23 goalkeeper’s release clause.
“Mikel Arteta regards Garcia as almost like-for-like deputy to David Raya.”
It would therefore appear as if Arsenal don’t want to risk the deal falling through before Friday’s deadline, knowing they can’t start the new Premier League season with just Raya.
Arsenal still need another important signing after Garcia
Of course, when considering that Arsenal have signed Riccardo Calafiori, Mikel Merino and possibly now Joan Garcia if things progress well, the club’s home grown quota must be a concern.
Emile Smith Rowe has left, Ramsdale is on his way, and Eddie Nketiah will also leave Arsenal.
Therefore, not only do Arsenal need a third-choice goalkeeper just on a footballing basis, they also need to add another homegrown player to their squad.
That explains why the Gunners have predominantly been linked with Wolves’ Daniel Bentley.
Arsenal also want Sam Tickle from Wigan Athletic, explaining that they have also spotted the issue.
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