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Arsenal Transfer News: PSG Star Goncalo Guedes Reportedly Spurns English Suitors
July 25, 2018
Arsenal manager Unai Emery will reportedly miss out on a reunion with Paris Saint-Germain forward Goncalo Guedes this summer, because the winger refuses to join any club other than Valencia.
The 21-year-old spent last season on loan at the Mestalla, and Cadena SER (h/t Metro's Coral Barry) reported he only has eyes for Los Che after PSG reached an agreement with an unnamed Premier League club for his sale.
Arsenal were reportedly the English suitors interested, but Guedes' motivation for a return to La Liga looks likely to end any Gunners intent.
Arsenal likely won't be the only outfit to get the cold shoulder from Guedes, either, after Get French Football News reported Napoli also hit a wall in their attempts to lure the forward:
Neither Guedes nor Jese Rodriguez, who spent last season on loan at Stoke City, were included on PSG's pre-season tour of Singapore, signalling that both could be surplus to requirements this summer.
Marca's M.A. Rodriguez wrote that Valencia have offered €40 million (£35.5 million) for their former loan star, but PSG are said to be holding out for €70 million (£62 million), an amount that likely prices Arsenal out of a move, too.
Arsenal wide options are thin on the ground after they sold Theo Walcott and traded Alexis Sanchez for Henrikh Mkhitaryan in January, with few other senior options other than the Armenian apparent.
Rodriguez reported Valencia also have hopes of agreeing another loan deal with an option to purchase from PSG at the end of this season, and Yahoo's Andrew Gaffney noted the interest appears real:
Los Che can offer UEFA Champions League football after they finished fourth in La Liga last term. The Gunners ended up sixth in the Premier League and are thus back in the UEFA Europa League.
Guedes has already begun a project at the Mestalla and seemingly wants to see it through rather than risk upsetting his growth with a move to the unfamiliar Premier League.
While Guedes is a winger by trade, he is capable of playing through the middle or in a supporting role and has shown an eye for goal in the past, via Goal:
His pace off the flanks might be preferred to the likes of Danny Welbeck or Alex Iwobi out wide, while academy products Eddie Nketiah, 19, and Reiss Nelson, 18, have also started to gain time in attack.
Emery may look to improve his more senior, experienced options before he leans on the club's own talent, but it looks as though the pursuit of Guedes leads to a dead end.