Good news for Arsenal in their search for a Morgan Rogers replacement after Chelsea stepped in.
Arsenal got a big boost in their hunt for a backup signing after Morgan Rogers started moving closer to Chelsea. Chelsea made a huge £117 million offer for Rogers that Aston Villa accepted on Saturday, and he’s set for a medical on Monday.
The 23-year-old, who’s been playing for England in the World Cup, has reportedly agreed to a six-year contract with an option for another year. Fabrizio Romano shared on his YouTube channel that Arsenal, who’ve been interested in Rogers since last season, planned to talk with Villa about signing him this week. But Arsenal weren’t willing to pay over £100 million, so they dropped out of the race.
Romano also said Chelsea are ready to pay Rogers more than Arsenal offered when they spoke to him and his team. The Blues thought Arsenal had the edge, but they decided to make a strong final offer to Villa. New Chelsea boss Xabi Alonso gave the okay and even spoke with Rogers personally.
So, Arsenal will now look at other players. Their £35 million move for Club Brugge winger Christos Tzolis won’t change that. Now, Arsenal are linked with RB Leipzig’s Yan Diomande. The 19-year-old impressed at the World Cup playing for Ivory Coast. PSG and Liverpool have also shown interest, and Diomande once said he supported PSG as a kid.
But Ivorian journalist Malick Traore says PSG won’t sign him this summer because the deal is tricky—mainly over image rights. PSG will focus on signing striker Junior Kroupi from Bournemouth instead. Diomande is under contract with Leipzig until 2030, and the club wants around €130 million to sell him this summer.
That’s more than Arsenal were ready to pay for Rogers. Still, Romano revealed Arsenal reached out to Diomande’s team to see if a deal might happen this summer.
Arsenal may need to sell players to make room since Tzolis is joining as a direct replacement for Leandro Trossard, who left for Besiktas recently.
If Diomande joins Arsenal, he’d be the fifth Ivorian to play for the club, after Kolo Toure, Emmanuel Eboue, Gervinho, and Nicolas Pepe. He could also become Arsenal’s most expensive signing, beating the £100 million they spent on Declan Rice last year.