Chelsea have a long-standing interest in signing Ethan Nwaneri from Arsenal, although the Premier League champions are reluctant to sell to one of their top rivals.
Nwaneri was previously a trialist at Stamford Bridge, however wrote his name into English football’s history books across London at Arsenal.
At one point he was the youngest player to feature in the Premier League, but since then his opportunities have dwindled in their side.
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Arsenal don’t want to sell Ethan Nwaneri to Chelsea
He spent the second half of last season on loan at Marseille, and is a player who a lot of top sides are looking at with potential to snap up.
Chelsea have been interested in Nwaneri for a number of months now, however face a difficult task in convincing Arsenal to sell to them.
According to Simon Phillips, the Gunners are not looking to sell one of their most promising players to one of their rivals from the capital.
He said on his Substack: “The Blues are aware that Arsenal have a desire to sell a number of attacking players this window in order to make room for some ambitious new plans they have to bring in big name new attackers this summer.
“Arsenal are trying to shift a number of players, and Nwaneri is one of them. The 19-year-old attacking midfielder has been on loan at Marseille this season but could now head out the door on a permanent move. Chelsea are one of the clubs who have some interest in the England U21 international.
“The issue Chelsea are facing though is a reluctance from Arsenal to sell any of their players to their London rivals. So again, this is another possible transfer move that looks highly unlikely at this point and it’s just some initial enquiries from Chelsea.
“They have been interested in Nwaneri for some time actually and have reached out to his agents previously regarding a possible move to Stamford Bridge.”
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Transfers between Arsenal and Chelsea are not uncommon
Chelsea and Arsenal have been involved in more direct transfers recently than most arch-rivals would be, suggesting there is a good relationship between the two clubs.
Noni Madueke and Kai Havertz both played key roles in Arsenal’s title winning campaign, with the former only leaving Stamford Bridge less than a year ago.
Jorginho, Olivier Giroud and Kepa Arrizabalaga have all moved between the two sides in recent years, although it looks as if there is a reluctance for them to let Nwaneri join that list this summer.
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