Arsenal is reportedly close to dumping goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale just a year after he was controversially benched in favour of David Raya. Ramsdale had been the outstanding performer in Arsenal’s 2022/23 Premier League campaign and earned his name in the PFA Team of the Year, before it all nosedived with manager Mikel Arteta’s call to have Raya, initially signed on loan from Brentford before a permanent switch.
The Athletic report that Arsenal have accepted an offer worth £25m including add-ons for Ramsdale’s transfer to Southampton, which will be completed before the end of the summer window. The player will have his medical soon. Arsenal intend to replace him with Espanyol’s Joan Garcia. The 23-year-old Spaniard played a key role in helping his club earn promotion to La Liga and he is likely to be back-up to Raya.
Meanwhile, in other transfer news, Barcelona reportedly makes a late push for Liverpool’s Stefan Bajcetic. The Blaugrana have presented an offer of a €4 m loan deal for the 19-year-old midfielder, with no purchase option involved. The injuries-prone Bajcetic – for whom playing time has been hard to come by thus far in his career – may well see his chance for regular first-team football with Barcelona, which finds itself during a period with a threadbare midfield owing to injury.
Barcelona’s move has come amidst setbacks piling up, like the long-term injury to promising youngster Marc Bernal and the continuous absences of Gavi and Frenkie de Jong. A move to Barcelona would mean going back home for Bajcetic, an opportunity to get his flagging career on track after a generally discouraging spell in Liverpool.
On the other hand, Liverpool is edging closer to signing Federico Chiesa from Juventus. According to sources, the Italian forward will join the Reds for a basic €13 million, though that number might escalate with add-ons included.
The signing of Chiesa means this is the second big signing during the post-Jurgen Klopp era after the agreement for the arrival of Giorgi Mamardashvili next summer.
