Arsenal are dealt ANOTHER blow in bid to sign forward this month
Arsenal are dealt ANOTHER blow in bid to sign forward this month after Cody Gakpo signs new deal with PSV Eindhoven until 2026… as fellow January target Dusan Vlahovic looks set to join Juventus
- Arsenal were reportedly leading the race to sign Cody Gakpo this month
- The Gunners viewed him as a replacement for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
- But 22-year-old Dutch international has committed future to PSV until 2026
Arsenal have been dealt another blow this month after Cody Gakpo committed his future to PSV Eindhoven by signing a new deal until 2026.
Footmercato via The Mirror claim the Reds and the Gunners were leading the race for the PSV Eindhoven winger this month, with the latter viewing him as a replacement for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
But in a statement on their website, the Dutch giants confirmed the 22-year-old will stay at PSV for ‘the remainder of the season’ after signing new and improved terms, which may hint that a summer move is not impossible.
Arsenal have been dealt another blow this month after Cody Gakpo committed his future to PSV Eindhoven
The Dutch international has signed new and improved terms at PSV Eindhoven until 2026
‘It’s a massive honour to extend my time here,’ Gakpo said. ‘I have a clear mission this season: win trophies with PSV.
‘I will give my very best to be successful with the team. I want to repay the trust the club is putting in me.’
It will come as a blow to the Gunners, with Gabon star Aubameyang’s exclusion from first-team matters having continued after he was left out of their warm-weather training camp in Dubai which begins this week.
According to The Telegraph, Aubameyang has been told to train on his own as the club look to offload the striker, who is on £350,000-a-week, before the end of the transfer window.
It comes as a blow to the Gunners, who reportedly viewed Gakpo as a replacement for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
If the 32-year-old does depart, it would leave Alexandre Lacazette, Eddie Nketiah and Gabriel Martinelli as the only natural centre-forward options for Mikel Arteta, and reports suggest Gakpo could have been the man they turn to.
Gakpo has scored 10 times and laid on 11 assists for the Dutch giants this term and speculation mounted when PSV chief John de Jong admitted the player will eventually leave them.
The technical director said: ‘Gakpo will of course not stay in Eindhoven forever. He will go to a top club in a top league in the future. Or will that happen next summer? That’s hard to say.’
The 22-year-old also revealed he has held talks with his representatives over his next move.
Arsenal are targeting Napoli striker Victor Osimhen, according to reports, in a £58million deal
‘The clubs that want something are also known to me, I’ve had conversations about that with my agent,’ he said.
‘Very interesting clubs have been added, but we have to look at what the first step is.’
Other reports suggest Arsenal have turned their attentions to Napoli striker Victor Osimhen after missing out on Fiorentina’s Dusan Vlahovic.
Gazzetta dello Sport claim they may be willing to splash the cash in their pursuit of Osimhen, although the Serie A outfit want €70million (£58m).
The Gunners have spent the majority of the window chasing Serbia star Vlahovic, who now looks destined for a move to Juventus.
Fiorentina frontman Dusan Vlahovic was on Arsenal’s shortlist, but he has chosen Juventus
And Arsenal’s desire for a new striker is pressing, with Martinelli more comfortable on the left-hand side of the attack and Nketiah and Lacazette out of contract in the summer.
Earlier this month, boss Arteta said: ‘If it’s the right player, we can afford and we can do want we want to do, we will discuss it and come to the best possible decision. We are open.
‘I think with the amount of things and the way we want to evolve the squad, we have to maximise every window in many different ways.
‘We are alert. (Technical director) Edu and his team are working very hard because we know exactly what we need to do.
‘Whether we can accomplish that in January or the summer is a different question and related to lots of other stuff but we are there.’
Mikel Arteta is desperate to add to his forward line ahead of next Monday’s transfer deadline
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