Arsenal sporting director Edu has just held extensive talks with PL club owner over £30m deal – report | OneFootball

Arsenal striker Eddie Nketiah is close to joining Nottingham Forest for £30 million after the Gunners rejected an initial £25m bid from their Premier League rivals, according to the Daily Mail.

The Gunners academy graduate was close to joining Marseille earlier this summer after agreeing personal terms with the French club.

However, the move fell through after they refused to meet Arsenal’s asking price, but Forest have, after their owner Evangelos Marinakis held extensive talks with their sporting director Edu over the past 48 hours.

Nketiah was reportedly unwilling to take a pay cut to join the City Ground club, with negotiations complicated as a result of that and his contract length at the Emirates Stadium club.

As a result, there are still issues for the 25-year-old to sort out with Arsenal before a deal can proceed, but it is believed that would not be a problem after both clubs reached a deal.

Forest have had the one-cap England international on their radar for a while and were keen on recruiting his services in the second half of 2019-20 after the North Londoners recalled him from his loan spell at Leeds United.

Arsenal decided to keep him for the remainder of the campaign but he is now close to leaving permanently after 38 goals and seven assists in 168 games over seven seasons.

Gunners manager Mikel Arteta has Eddie Nketiah, Gabriel Jesus and Leandro Trossard as his striking options, but he could look to bring in reinforcements in the position once Nketiah moves on.

A move for Napoli striker Victor Osimhen is reportedly back on, while versatile Atalanta forward Ademola Lookman has emerged as a recent target.