Report: Eddie Nketiah to stay at Arsenal after agreeing new contract
Eddie Nketiah will be staying at Arsenal after he and the club have finalized the terms of a new deal, according to a report in the Evening Standard. Previous reports have had Nketiah signing a five-year extension, and the Standard reports that should Nketiah see his contract to its end, he will have been at Arsenal for ten years. Nketiah first played for Arsenal senior team in the 2017-18 season. Nketiah’s contract had been due to expire at the end of the month, with Arsenal confirming that negotiations were ongoing. Nketiah started Arsenal’s final eight games of the season, deputizing for Alex Lacazette after Lacazette contracted COVID-19. Nketiah, who scored twice in his second start, against Chelsea, kept his place, scoring five goals in the final eight games of the season, albeit with the goals coming in just three games. Arsenal are also reportedly in talks with Manchester City to seal the transfer of Gabriel Jesus. Nketiah and Jesus would then presumably be Arsenal’s two options at centre forward next season.
Arsenal may have accidentally announced that Eddie Nketiah has signed his new £29m contract
New deal for Nketiah is 'smart business' | #TheArsenalAgenda SHARE SHARE TWEET SHARE EMAIL Click to expand UP NEXT Arsenal may have dropped the clearest indication yet that Eddie Nketiah has signed a contract extension which means all that remains is an official announcement. Having not started a single Premier League game up until mid-April, it appeared that the striker would be leaving the Gunners upon the expiry of his contract at the end of this month after revealing regular game-time was the motivation behind any decision to stay on. "There have been offers of a new contract, but at the moment, my aim is to play football and play regularly", Nketiah explained on The Beautiful Game Podcast towards the end of last season. "That's my ambition, and that’s what I hope to do, but at the same time, I’m at Arsenal. I love Arsenal." READ MORE: 'Eddie confirms Jesus signing' as Instagram message triggers brilliant Arsenal transfer theory Following those comments - which aired ahead of Nketiah scoring a brace on his first Premier League start of the season against Chelsea as the Gunners won 4-2 at Stamford Bridge - the former England U21 international was given a run in the side even when Alexandre Lacazette returned to fitness after testing positive for Covid-19. He started the final eight games of the campaign, scoring five times as the Gunners just missed out on a top-four finish by two points. But it would appear the trust shown in him by Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has led to the 23-year-old having a change of heart regarding his future. As reported by the Daily Mail last month, Nketiah is set to sign a new five-year deal that will keep him at the club until 2027. Furthermore, the contract is said to be worth £24m with the striker earning £100,000-a-week and there's also a £5m bonus that will be paid out across the contract length, thus taking the overall package to £29m. Now, it's been almost two weeks since it was reported that Nketiah was on the verge of signing his new Arsenal contract and there has yet to be an official confirmation from either party. A reason for this could be that the striker is currently on holiday preparing for pre-season training which gets underway on June 27th. But have the Gunners already let the cat out of the bag with regards to the contract situation? That may very well be the case judging by their promotional work for the club's first pre-season fixture against Nurnberg on July 8 as Nketiah is included on the poster alongside Gabriel Martinelli, Martin Odegaard and Gabriel Magalhaes. The reason this is rather significant is the fact that Nketiah's current contract expires on June 30 which means he would have been released - alongside Lacazette - by the time Arsenal face the 2. Bundesliga side at The Max-Morlock-Stadion unless he puts pen-to-paper on fresh terms. So the fact he is included in a promotional poster for a game that takes place eight days after his previous contract was due to expire suggests he will be staying with the Gunners and all that remains is official confirmation after the club 'accidentally announced' the new contract.
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