Leeds United are reportedly interested in solving Arsena’s incoming striker crisis by signing Eddie Nketiah, which could open the door for a transfer of Kalvin Phillips the other way.
Nketiah’s contract is set to expire in the summer, meaning the club need to offload him in the January transfer window to avoid losing him on a free transfer in the summer.
The Englishman recently had a loan move to the Yorskhire club, so a deal makes sense and the Gunners’ pursuit of Phllips is a necessity with the north London’s side shortage in the centre of midfield.
Phillips also uploaded a post to his Instagram story after England’s 5-0 victory over Albania congratulating Arsenal starboy Emile Smith Rowe, which had fans picturing of the same image at club level.
Nketiah has been tipped to leave the club for a while and it almost happened in the summer as It seemed nailed on that he was going to make the switch to south London and join Crystal Palace after serious interest was shown by Patrick Vieira.
The two clubs had been negotiating a deal which led to the Eagles tabling an £8 million bid but it was rejected as the Gunners valued him at around £12 million.
With Edu unable to offload him in the summer, it is critical the club act fast on the 22-year-old striker.
They may have found a breakthrough, as according to TransferMarketWeb, Leeds have contacted Nketiah about a move to Elland Road.
The young striker enjoyed a spell on loan with the Whites back in 2019/20, scoring five times in 19 appearances, before being recalled by Arsenal in January of that season.
If the Gunners sanction a deal for Nketiah to Leeds, then Edu could use this as leigh way to potentially sign English international Phillips, after taking Arsenal’s central midfield problems into consideration.
The club is already dealing with Granit Xhaka’s absence from the side following a knee problem suffered in the North London Derby victory over Spurs late in September.
This is made worse by he African Cup of Nations that is set to take place between January 9th and February 6th, with Thomas Partey going to the tournament to represent Ghana, whilst Mohamed Elneny will be playing for Egypt.
Despite a deal being unlikely, Phllips would be a perfect solution to these problems and a transfer would make sense if Arsenal were to sanction an Nketiah transfer to Leeds.
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