Arsenal 'demanding club-record fee for 24-year-old attacker'

Academy graduate Eddie Nketiah has played third fiddle to Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus in the number nine spot this season, despite managing 36 appearances across all competitions.

Nketiah's numbers hardly stand out, though, as he has recorded just six goals and three assists in that time, albeit including an impressive hat-trick against Sheffield United in October.

The England international has only made the first XI on 10 occasions in the current Premier League campaign, though, and his last top-flight start came in the Gunners' defeat to Fulham on New Year's Eve.

With Arsenal expected to pursue a big-money striker ahead of the 2024-25 season, Nketiah's place at the Emirates appears to be in serious jeopardy, and a sale will likely be considered for the right price this summer.

According to HITC — via Football365 — Arsenal are happy to part ways with Nketiah during the summer transfer window, but only if an interested party meets their £40m asking price.

Such a fee would represent the Gunners' most expensive sale of all time, outstripping the £35m that Liverpool paid to sign midfielder Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain in the summer of 2017.

Nketiah is not believed to be short of suitors in the Premier League, with all of West Ham United, Crystal Palace, Fulham and Bournemouth supposedly prepared to offer him a top-flight escape route.

The Eagles have long been linked with a swoop for the 24-year-old, while Bournemouth could be in need of a new number nine if the in-demand Dominic Solanke is allowed to depart at the end of the campaign.

Arsenal are rumoured to be one of the clubs