GM. This is the Free Transfer, that stranger who paid for your meal at the restaurant without telling you.

What’s on the cards today:

• Arsenal buying players like their life depends on it 💥 

• Bournemouth sack Gary O’Neil out of nowhere 🤯 

• Saudi government continues to try & lure players 🇸🇦 

ARSENAL BUYING PLAYERS LIKE THEIR LIFE DEPENDS ON IT 💥 

It has been a crazy first week of the summer transfer market for Arsenal. It feels like there is a new surprise/bid/development every single day. This is not the Arsenal we are used to— it feels much more like Chelsea or Manchester City.

Who is this & what have they done with the Arsenal of old?

Welbeck on deadline day, Cech as the only signing of the summer, Mustafi & Lucas Perez…

What you need to know:

Arsenal have submitted a 2nd bid for Declan Rice today 🍚 

The second bid will be rejected by West Ham, but Ornstein reports that there is optimism for a deal as the bids approach an “appropriate value”.

Key to remember that it has been reported that Rice has his heart set on Arsenal.

West Ham are thought to be holding out for bids from other clubs such as Manchester City & Manchester United.

An opening bid for Jurrien Timber was submitted & rejected yesterday 🪵 

Well, this one came out of absolutely nowhere last night. It looks like we have finally discovered who Arsenal’s main target at RCB/RB was this summer. A bid last night for £30MM for Jurrien Timber was swiftly rejected by Ajax, per Ornstein, who want closer to £50MM for the Dutchman.

Timber was Manchester United’s main defensive target last summer until they switched focus to his teammate Lisandro Martinez. He is a right centerback who can play rightback, and has even played as a midfielder before.

Ornstein reports that there is “optimism” that a deal can be struck in the middle of the two clubs’ valuations.

A second bid for Kai Havertz will be submitted & possibly accepted in the coming days 🐍 

After a first bid of £55MM was rejected by Chelsea for Kai Havertz, Arsenal look to have made a second proposal worth £60MM.

With Chelsea looking to sell, they will be keen to come to an agreement with Arsenal. That being said, they may hold firm on their £65MM valuation. This could develop quickly.

Arsenal have just about agreed to terms with Romeo Lavia; bid could come soon 🇧🇪 

It appears Arsenal have nearly agreed to terms with Southampton’s Romeo Lavia.

According to many sources, a bid could come soon. Manchester City have a buyback clause that activates in summer 2024, allowing them to repurchase Lavia from Southampton for £40MM.

Southampton are said to want a “record fee” for Lavia. As we know, Southampton’s record sale to-date was Virgil Van Dijk back in 2018 to Liverpool for £75MM. After being relegated and needing to shift players due to lost TV revenues for next season, it would be pretty shocking to see Southampton get anywhere near their transfer record for Lavia. Let’s see.

BOURNEMOUTH SACK GARY O’NEIL OUT OF NOWHERE 🤯 

Gary O’Neil has had praise heaped on him for the turnaround he conducted in the second half of the season with Bournemouth. He had them safe from relegation in April with a 15th-place finish ahead of much bigger spenders below Bournemouth.

His sacking yesterday came as an absolute shock to most. Bournemouth, however, quickly appointed a new coach for next season just minutes after announcing the sacking of O’Neil, which makes it all seem much more calculated ⤵️ 

Andoni Iraola was the coach of Rayo Vallecano from 2020-2023, where he secured promotion back to LaLiga in 2021 followed by 12th and 11th place finishes in LaLiga. He is a promising young coach who was due a bigger move.

All in all, this is a risk for Bournemouth. Gary O’Neil brought stability & kept the club’s head above water during the relegation race. That being said, sometimes unexpected moves are necessary to stay ahead of the curve. Only time will tell if this decision pays off.

SAUDI GOVERNMENT CONTINUES TO TRY & LURE PLAYERS 🇸🇦 

The bids keep on coming, and how could they be rejected? The Saudi government has been offering eye-watering sums of money to both clubs & players to try to lure top talent to their league.

Some of these offers are so ridiculous that players would almost be silly to turn them down, especially ones who are at the end of their careers. On the club side, it seems like this could be an easy way to sell off unwanted players.

This whole thing has a “too good to be true” feeling. Only time will tell, but it feels like something is a bit fishy. 🐟️ 

Here are some of the deals and offers in recent days ⤵️ 

“God” bid likely was supposed to be “good”. Unless he was saying that the size of the Saudi offers were fit for a god. Freudian slip from Fab?

Irishman Matt Doherty transferring from Spurs to Atletico Madrid to Saudi Arabia in the span of 6 months could genuinely be the most bizarre transfer path we’ve ever seen.

From “best goalie in the world” 2 years ago after winning the UCL with Chelsea, to moving to Saudi Arabia. Mendy’s story at Europe’s top level was a short but sweet one.

Lukaku reportedly rejected a €30MM per year salary offer from Saudi Arabia to stay in Europe. He will leave Chelsea this summer in hopes of finding a UCL club. A loan bid from Inter has already been rejected, as it seems Chelsea only want a permanent sale.

After a failed loan at Chelsea in 2021-2022, Saul has been on the outside looking in back at his home club Atletico. Looks like he is on the brink of going to Saudi Arabia as well.

At age 34, you have to wonder how many more years Aubameyang has left in the tank. If he wanted to go to Barca, he’d have to essentially play for free as Lewandowski’s backup.

Saudi Arabia could be one last paycheck before retiring from the game. Why not?

Luka Modric looks close to signing a one-year extension with Madrid to stay sharp for next summer’s Euros. That hasn’t kept Saudi clubs from offering him mouth-watering deals. One to watch for next summer.

Ruben Neves’s move came as a shock as he is only 26 years old and entering his prime years. This is very different to offering players close to retirement. It felt like a shift. Will we see more players in their mid-20s move to Saudi Arabia?

It looks like Kalidou Koulibaly will be joining him shortly at Al Hilal after flopping at Chelsea.

After Chelsea blocked his January move to PSG, it looks like Ziyech is hanging up his boots at Europe’s top level. He is close to joining Ronaldo at Al Nassr.

And these are just some of the deals from the past few days…

It looks like a lot more could happen by the end of the summer.

Is this just like the MLS & China ten years ago, who threw money at retiring players? Or is this a rich league pushing to actually join the world’s best?

Only time will tell. 🔮 

Memes are the best healers

That’s all for today. Now that the international break is officially over, hopefully we will see decision from free agents & clubs making their first moves on targets.

Ciao for now,

—The Gaffer