Report: Arsenal Have £25M Dani Ceballos Offer Rejected; Real Madrid Want £30M

Arsenal have reportedly had an offer of £25 million rejected by Real Madrid for midfielder Dani Ceballos.

The Gunners signed the Spain international on loan for the 2019-20 term from Los Blancos, although there is not an option to make the move permanent.

However, according to ElDesmarque (h/t Jordan Seward of the MailOnline), Arsenal have already made an attempt to make it a long-term deal. The initial offer is said to have been rejected by Real Madrid, although the La Liga giants are reportedly ready to accept a bid in the region of £30 million after lowering their valuation of the player.

As Seward relayed, there have been reports from Spain this week that suggest Ceballos has already told key figures at the Santiago Bernabeu he wants to make his transfer to Arsenal permanent.

In his early weeks as an Arsenal player, there have been flashes of exciting quality from Ceballos.

His standout performance so far came on his home debut, when he excelled in a 2-1 win over Burnley:

Since then, he's struggled to scale similar heights. Ceballos has been drafted in and out of the side by manager Unai Emery, while his moments of class have been interspersed by segments of frustrating play.

Even so, it's early days in the Spaniard's Arsenal career, and he's already showcased enough quality to suggest he would be value for money for a fee in the region of £25 million.

After all, when he's on the field, the Gunners immediately seem to have more thrust in their attacking play, per The Short Fuse:

Emery doesn't appear to be sure on how to get the best from Ceballos, though, as he's been used as a box-to-box midfielder and a No. 10.

Football writer Zach Lowy thinks the former of those two roles is where we'll see the best of the Arsenal loanee:

Ceballos certainly doesn't appear to have a future at Real Madrid, with manager Zinedine Zidane happy to sanction his loan move.

The fact Madrid were seemingly on the hunt for another midfielder in the summer—they were consistently linked with Manchester United star Paul Pogba—doesn't bode well for Ceballos' chances of Santiago Bernabeu redemption, either.

Per Spanish football journalist Andy West, Federico Valverde has also emerged as a serious rival to the likes of Luka Modric, Toni Kroos and Casemiro for a starting spot:

Ceballos' career has stalled since he joined Los Blancos from Real Betis in 2017, and his recent inconsistent displays are indicative of a footballer who has had his minutes limited over the past couple of seasons.

It's clear there is talent for Arsenal to tap into over the coming months, and with frequent appearances, Ceballos' displays will become more refined. If they do, then the Gunners would surely be happy to meet the revised asking price from Real Madrid.