How Arsenal could affect Middlesbrough transfer deal for David Strelec | OneFootball

The Gunners could be about to have a massive say on Middlesbrough's transfer window.

Arsenal are reportedly weighing up a move for Aston Villa star Morgan Rogers, with any deal handing Middlesbrough a significant cash windfall.

Middlesbrough have been really ramping up their summer recruitment drive in recent days.

Selling Rav van den Berg to FC Koln has opened the relative transfer floodgates for the Teessiders, as permanent deals for Sontje Hansen and Adilson Malanda respectively have both now been completed, both of which seeing Boro pay handsome fees for the pair.

Meanwhile, the eye-catching loan signing of versatile Manchester City midfielder Sverre Nypan has also gone through, with Rob Edwards making some really smart signings ahead of the 1 September deadline.

Arsenal could be set to hand Middlesbrough major cash injection with potential Morgan Rogers move

However, given those aforementioned deals for Hansen and Malanda, the vast majority of the £11.2m recouped through Van den Berg's sale has already been reinvested.

Therefore, should Middlesbrough wish to make any more big splashes in the market before the transfer deadline, they may now once again be forced to cash in on a star player. Hayden Hackney, perhaps?

Or do they?

A report from The Sun on Wednesday afternoon has revealed that Arsenal are weighing up a potential blockbuster move for Aston Villa star, Morgan Rogers.

They claim that following the knee injury sustained to Kai Havertz, this has now increased the chances of the Gunners making a play for Rogers, who is a player they were already looking at as a potential option this summer.

Arsenal are said to be looking for a player who can operate in a number of different roles in Mikel Arteta's side, and as such, the 23-year-old attacking midfielder would be a 'prime candidate' as he can also play out wide or as a striker.

Villa are understood to be holding out for £80m for their England international, and are unlikely to sell for a fee below that.

So what does this all mean for Middlesbrough? Well, Boro are understood to have inserted a 20 per cent sell-on clause in the £16m deal that took Rogers from the Riverside to Villa Park in February last year.

Therefore, should Arsenal sign him for an £80m fee, then Middlesbrough would receive £16m of that.

Morgan Rogers windfall could have major say on what Boro are able to do in the final days of the window

Receiving a potential £16m cash injection would equip Middlesbrough with the funds to do some serious spending of their own in the final days of the window, if they wish.

It's no secret that Edwards is still looking for at least another centre-forward and left wing-back to come into his squad before the window shuts, and one such player who Boro are known to hold an interest in signing to fill the former of those two roles is David Strelec.

The 24-year-old is understood to still be in play as a potential addition for the Teessiders, with his father even revealing that Middlesbrough were still interested in the player whom they tried to sign back in January.

However, the sticking point for Boro at this moment in time will surely be around the potential transfer fee it would cost to bring the Slovan Bratislava hitman to the Riverside, with his club demanding a fee of £9m for his services during the winter window.

Contracted there until 2028, and with a strong start to his scoring season in 2025/26 too, Slovan are surely unlikely to have slashed their asking price for their star striker, especially not at this stage of the window either.

But, should Arsenal imminently action their Rogers transfer plan and get a deal done swiftly enough to hand Boro the opportunity to reinvest their cash windfall, then Middlesbrough could see this as a golden opportunity to splash out on the centre-forward.