Arsenal transfers: Zubimendi payment plan, lower Gyokeres fee, Garcia pivot? What we’re hearing

Decision time is approaching: who will Arsenal pursue as their new centre-forward?

Kai Havertz may have returned to full training, but Gabriel Jesus is likely to be out until well into next season. Premier League champions Liverpool have outscored Arsenal by 17 goals. Mikel Arteta’s team need an addition in attack — and their manager appears to concur.

Andrea Berta was only announced as Arsenal’s sporting director at the end of March. His relatively late arrival means some aspects of Arsenal’s summer plan remain under discussion. Much of Berta’s time since starting at Arsenal has been spent exploring the market, gaining as full a picture as possible of the landscape to inform the strategy.

Arsenal have built a detailed picture of the striker market. At one stage, the club hoped Newcastle United failing to qualify for the Champions League could open up a run at Alexander Isak. But Eddie Howe’s team are now third and can leapfrog Arsenal with a win at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday. The slim prospect of landing Arteta’s preferred candidate for the centre-forward role seems more remote than ever.

Viktor Gyokeres remains firmly in the frame. Berta is a huge admirer of the 26-year-old Sweden international, and has explored a potential deal. With 52 goals and 13 assists in 50 appearances for Sporting CP this season, Gyokeres’ numbers speak for themselves. Sporting have indicated to relevant parties they would be prepared to entertain offers below Gyokeres’ €100million (£84m; $112m) release clause. The expectation is the Portuguese club would be prepared to accept a fee in the region of £60-70m.

Benjamin Sesko remains a strong candidate. Arsenal have monitored the 21-year-old’s progress since he was a teenager. While not as prolific as Gyokeres, the Slovenian international has 21 goals and six assists across 44 club appearances in 2024-25. Factor in his age, the difficulty of the Bundesliga, and the fact he’s playing in an underperforming RB Leipzig team that currently sit outside the European qualification places, and he remains a compelling proposition. Leipzig now cannot qualify for next season’s Champions League — another factor which could precipitate Sesko’s departure.

There are other names Arsenal are across. Berta remains informed on Ollie Watkins’ situation. Arteta is a fan of the player — Arsenal explored a deal in January — but the club have concerns over paying a fee in excess of £40m for a player who turns 30 in December. There is admiration for Eintracht Frankfurt’s Hugo Ekitike. Brighton’s versatile forward Joao Pedro is another whose qualities have been discussed.

Arsenal cannot afford to wait too long before deciding on a priority target. Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester United are also in the market for a No 9 this summer — and players like Gyokeres and Sesko are likely to have multiple suitors.

Arsenal are also interested in the possibility of adding a wide player, although such a signing might require one of their existing options to depart. There is long-standing interest in Nico Williams of Athletic Club. Arteta is a fan of Real Madrid forward Rodrygo, although the financial parameters of any deal would be challenging. Jamie Gittens, the 20-year-old Englishman who has broken through at Borussia Dortmund, has also caught Arsenal’s attention.

It is thought a move for Madrid’s Rodrygo would be challenging financially (Javier Soriano/AFP via Getty Images)

While augmenting the front line may be Arsenal’s most obvious area of need, the first deal Berta completes could be one he effectively inherited. Despite reports of interest from Real Madrid, Arsenal remain confident holding midfielder Martin Zubimendi will be an Arsenal player.

One route to complete the deal would be to ask the player to activate his €60m release clause.

Such clauses are commonplace in Spain, where they are almost a legal necessity. Spanish employment law means that — in theory — every footballer in La Liga could insist on breaking their contract to join another club. In such a case, the jilted club would still be due a fee, but it would be determined by the courts that deal with labour disputes. To avoid that, and still appease employment law, Spanish clubs typically insert a release clause.

To trigger that, the player — or their legal representative — must deliver the funds to La Liga’s central offices in a single instalment. This represents a unilateral termination of the contract between club and player. In almost all cases, the player will have been sent those funds by the ‘buying’ club. La Liga then distributes the money to the ‘selling’ club.

That is how Arsenal pulled off the signing of Thomas Partey from Atletico Madrid in the summer of 2020. The funds were deposited with La Liga, and by the time Atleti were made aware of Arsenal’s intent, Partey was virtually an Arsenal player.

A statement on the Spanish club’s official website read: “La Liga informed Atletico de Madrid at 11.28pm on Monday that Arsenal representatives have paid Thomas Partey’s release clause at the sports association’s headquarters. The player has therefore unilaterally terminated his contract with our club, which ran until June 30, 2023.”

Privately, Atleti were furious, with executives insisting Arsenal’s actions had done irreparable damage to the relationship between the clubs. Berta will remember it well — he was Atleti’s sporting director at the time.

Andrea Berta, left, with Tim Lewis, Arsenal’s executive vice-chair (David Price/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)

Arsenal are taking a different approach with Zubimendi. This has been a long pursuit, one that predates even last summer. Arsenal have chosen to go through the front door, making Real Sociedad well aware of their intentions. They have a good relationship with the club, which they have maintained throughout the process. Edu made significant headway in talks last summer, with Jason Ayto taking up the baton in November.

Negotiating directly with Real Sociedad has an obvious advantage: the schedule of payments. By dealing directly with the club, Arsenal will avoid having to pay the entire €60m in one go. Instead, they intend to find a more favourable payment schedule.

That should help grant Arsenal greater flexibility in this crucial summer transfer window. Beyond the striker and the holding midfielder, there is still more to do. Zubimendi is not the only player with a release clause who is of interest. They are a theme this summer — such as with Espanyol goalkeeper Joan Garcia.

Arsenal pursued Garcia last summer, but withdrew from negotiations in the final days of the window, when it became clear Espanyol were not prepared to accept any offer worth less than his €25m release clause. Arsenal opted to sign Neto on loan from Bournemouth.

Since then, Garcia’s stock has risen. Espanyol were promoted in 2023-24, and the 24-year-old has impressed in his first full season in La Liga.

The €25m release clause remains — for now. There are two situations in which the clause could rise to €30m. Firstly, if he is called up to the Spanish national team, such as for the UEFA Nations League semi-final on June 5. Secondly, the clause will also rise in the final 15 days of the transfer window.

If Arsenal wish to secure Garcia for the flat €25m, they may need to act swiftly. Alternatively, they could broker an agreement with Espanyol without activating the clause. Either way, it is a significant sum for a goalkeeper who is likely to arrive as second choice. If a more affordable candidate can be found, Berta may push to pivot.

Arsenal’s chances of landing Dean Huijsen faded once Real Madrid entered the battle for his signature. Huijsen has always been attracted by the prospect of moving to the Spanish capital, and Madrid now hope to see off interest from Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal to seal a deal.

If Madrid do get Huijsen — they have already agreed to meet his £50m release clause — Arsenal can at least breathe a sigh of relief over the immediate future of William Saliba. The Frenchman is a long-term target for Madrid, but Arsenal have begun talks to extend his contract, which expires in 2027.

Arsenal have begun talks to extend Saliba’s contract (Alex Pantling/Getty Images)

That is the other significant task facing Berta: securing the futures of Arsenal’s existing talent.

As well as Saliba, Berta has held exploratory discussions with representatives of Gabriel, Partey, Ethan Nwaneri and Leandro Trossard. There is also a critically important negotiation with Bukayo Saka on the horizon.

In the case of Partey, Arsenal hope to retain him on a relatively short-term contract. Partey’s priority is to stay at Arsenal — if his demands can be met.

Berta’s first summer in England promises to be a busy one.

(Top photos: Getty Images)

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