One of Aston Villa boss Unai Emery‘s personal targets now wants to join Arsenal instead, with the Gunners also “seriously” keen on signing him for Mikel Arteta.
Edu’s rumoured Arsenal transfer plans for 2025
Despite being fresh off the back of a thrilling summer window, it is believed that sporting director Edu Gaspar and the recruitment team are already devising transfer plans for 2025.
By his own admission, Edu revealed in an interview with Brazilian publication Estadao earlier this year (via football.london) that weeks of detailed planning is put towards every potential new signing – with reports of more than 180 pages on a single player alone.
News of Arteta agreeing a new Arsenal contract will help in this regard, as the Spaniard is no longer set to leave in 2025, with both the Arsenal manager and Edu now set to share the same transfer vision for much longer and carry on building the squad.
“You can’t sign players for the sake of signing. This has to be a process that takes weeks and weeks. There on my desk, I have reports with more than 180 pages on a player,” said Edu on Arsenal’s transfer strategy in May.
“It’s really detailed stuff. Physical, technical, mental profile, if you have Premier League experience, if you will be able to adapt. It has everything.
“We analyse our weaknesses, where we can improve, where we can invest and then we go in search of that new name. What I am going to do now, we have been discussing since January. It’s not my decision or Mikel’s alone. It belongs to a whole group.”
Therefore, it is little surprise we’re already seeing reports of Arsenal’s potential new targets for next year. Edu is said to be targeting Bayern Munich star Alphonso Davies, and Arsenal could make a pre-contract offer in January to sign him for free next summer, as his contract is set to expire in 2025.
Elsewhere, Arsenal have held extensive internal talks over Jorrel Hato, with the Dutch defender earning admirers from within the club. There is also the matter of a new world-class striker, which Arsenal ultimately didn’t land in the summer window, despite a widely-reported offer for RB Leipzig starlet Benjamin Sesko.
Despite missing out on the Slovenian, there is a belief that Arsenal are laying some groundwork to sign Sesko next summer instead, with contact already made ahead of a potential 2025 move.
Javi Guerra keen on joining Arsenal over Aston Villa
Now, according to CaughtOffside, it is believed young Valencia midfielder Javi Guerra is attracting interest from Edu and Arteta. The 21-year-old is a highly-regarded talent in Spain, and impressed over his 36 La Liga appearances last term, bagging four goals and an assist as a mainstay of their midfield.
It is now believed that Arsenal are “seriously” keen on signing Guerra, who in turn much prefers a transfer to north London over Villa, despite Emery personally wanting the player to make a Midlands move.
Guerra’s contract contains an £84 million release clause, but the Spaniard could actually leave for much less than that figure, according to CS.
