Nottingham Forest target sends clear message amidst transfer speculation
The Eddie Nketiah was all but done.
Arsenal and Nottingham Forest had agreed a fee. Nketiah had agreed the salary. Then Forest moved the goal posts.
Reports are they wanted him to take at least a 50% pay cut if they got relegated. And he said no; understandable.
It is easy to forget that there are 3 parties involved in a transfer, and that any of the 3 can crash a deal.
Eddie will still leave us in this last week, but it will have to be a deal that suits all 3 parties.
We have made it clear what we want for him (a fee not too unreasonable considering what Dominic Solanke has gone for / Armando Broja might go for).
Eddie will want his wages matched. Or close to. Without an unreasonable reduction if the team gets relegated.
The likes of Ipswich Town (if the Broja deal collapses) and Crystal Palace are in the market for a striker.
Palace is my bet. With 3 players already earning in excess of £100k a week, they will have no issue paying Nketiah’s wages. They have also sold Michael Olise or Jordan Ayew so clearly in need of more attacking reinforcements.
We can’t moan that we undersell players, that say things like “we need to accept a lower offer to get rid”.
When the sale of Eddie is complete, it will be nearly double what Marseille walked away from. It will justify Edu and the teams decision to not accept the first offer that comes in.
The Eddie deal has the potential to change how we are seen in the world. No longer a soft touch when selling a player.
We hold firm on the asking price – even if it ends up a loan with an obligation to buy, and we have sent that message out to the world.