Arteta asks Arsenal to pay Takefusa Kubo €60m release fee

Arsenal are contemplating a bid to secure the services of Japanese footballer Takefusa Kubo, who currently plays for Real Sociedad.

 

 

 

The club is said to be willing to meet the player’s €60m release clause next summer.

Arteta has reportedly requested Kubo’s signing to bolster Arsenal’s squad as they aim to compete more effectively with Manchester City in the Premier League.

Takefusa Kubo has impressed during his time at Real Sociedad, displaying form that eluded him during loan stints away from Real Madrid before he was sold last summer.

Apparently, Mikel Arteta sees the Japanese player as a key figure in advancing Arsenal’s ambitions. With four goals and one assist in seven games this season, Kubo has garnered attention as a rising talent in the game, notably from Arteta.

In total, he has 13 goals and 10 assists in 51 matches since his €6.5m transfer in 2022.

Real Madrid, however, could prove to be a stumbling block for the Gunners.

The Spanish giants have a €30m buy-back option for Kubo (he’s currently valued at €25m).

This means that they have the final say on the player’s immediate future and could exercise this option to scupper Arsenal’s plans.

Given Kubo’s level of performance at Real Sociedad, it is widely expected that his departure from the club is imminent, regardless of his next destination.

With Arteta showing keen interest in the player, and a release clause set at €60m, the potential transfer could become one of the high-profile moves of the summer.

However, Real Madrid’s buy-back option looms as a potential hurdle, adding complexity to an already intricate situation.

How this plays out could have significant implications not just for Arsenal but for the wider dynamics of Premier League and La Liga transfers.

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Arsenal signing was given ‘guarantees’ over starting spot by Arteta as January exit looms for £24m ace

Mikel Arteta made the bold call to sign another goalkeeper this summer to compete with Aaron Ramsdale for the number one spot.

Raya joined Arsenal on a season-long loan deal from Brentford and the Gunners have the option to make the deal permanent next year for a reported fee of £27million.

Ramsdale has been Arsenal’s established number one goalkeeper since the 2021-22 season which saw him leapfrog Bernd Leno in the pecking oder.

Arteta has insisted that the number one spot is up for grabs between the two goalkeepers and that the starting spot could rotate throughout the season.

However, Ben Jacobs believes that Arteta will have given Raya some assurances over his game time at the start of the season as he believes the plan was to name the Spanish goalkeeper as Arteta’s first choice all along.

“It is no huge surprise David Raya has taken Aaron Ramsdale’s spot in goal,” Jacobs wrote in his SubStack column.

“Mikel Arteta may constantly speak in public about the pair competing on a week-by-week basis, but Raya was told a different story when he joined.

“The Spanish keeper played every game for Brentford last season and wouldn’t have moved without some guarantees he wouldn’t spend much of this season on the bench.

The No.1 spot at Arsenal is clearly Raya’s to lose.”

Ramsdale could look for a January exit

With Euro 2024 only around the corner, Ramsdale will want to be playing regular first team football in order to claim a spot in Gareth Southgate’s side.

Jordan Pickford has been the preferred choice by Southgate over the years, but Ramsdale has been knocking on the door after a couple of impressive years with Arsenal.

However, sitting on the bench will do his international career no good and he is now being linked with a move away from Arsenal.

According to Football Insider, clubs are ‘queuing up’ to sign Ramsdale in January as the 25-year-old doesn’t seem to be prepared to play second fiddle to Raya.

Jamie Carragher has also weighed in on the situation and he belives a January exit could be the best solution for all parties involved.

“I think he will be [leaving in January], if he got an opportunity at a decent club and Arsenal were happy with that,” Carragher told Sky Sports.

“I think Arsenal will be looking at it and thinking they could get a few quid for him.

“You never have two goalkeepers at the same level at a club, especially top keepers.

Normally when that happens, it is because they are both not good enough and you can’t decide who you should be picking.”

The Gunners signed Ramsdale back in 2021 for a reported fee of £24m.

They would likely make a healthy profit on the goalkeeper if they do decide to sell, although the England international could yet reclaim his starting spot.