Crystal Palace move for Arsenal striker Eddie Nketiah in £30m deal | Crystal Palace

Crystal Palace are confident of completing a deal worth up to £30million for Eddie Nketiah after further talks with Arsenal over the England striker. Nketiah looked set to join Nottingham Forest last week after they agreed a fee, but the move fell through due to personal terms.

Palace have long been interested in the 25-year-old and were called into action after their second defeat of the season, against West Ham, on Saturday.

It is believed they have agreed terms with Nketiah that would make him one of their highest earners, with Arsenal expected to accept their offer of £25m plus a further £5m in bonuses. Mikel Arteta is said to have approved his departure despite concerns over a groin injury that ruled Gabriel Jesus out of their win over Aston Villa on Saturday. The Brazilian underwent a scan over the weekend, although it is not known how long he will be sidelined.

Arsenal are expected to confirm the arrival of Mikel Merino from Real Sociedad, while Fabio Vieira is likely to join Porto on loan for the season. Arteta hinted last week that they could be active in the final days of the transfer window.

“We have to do that because anything can happen,” he said. “You have to be ready, especially in the last week. You have to be alert and prepared because there can be many surprises, for many different reasons, and we are prepared.”

There is interest in Spanish forward Nico Williams, who has a £48m transfer fee but is reportedly reluctant to leave Athletic Bilbao in this transfer window. Arsenal have also been linked with Sporting’s Swedish forward Viktor Gyökeres, who would provide more direct competition to Kai Havertz for the central striker role.

Palace are also said to be interested in Jakub Kiwior, with Arsenal having to decide whether to sell or loan the Polish defender. He has also attracted interest from Bologna, from whom Arsenal signed Riccardo Calafiori this summer.

Palace are still in talks with Newcastle over Marc Guéhi and have been lining up potential replacements. Last week, a £14m bid for Wolfsburg’s Maxence Lacroix was rejected and Palace are expected to return with an improved offer for the French defender. However, their bid to sign Benfica’s Tomás Araújo has been frustrated.

Palace are also interested in Liverpool’s Joe Gomez, Chelsea’s Trevoh Chalobah and Bayer Leverkusen’s Odilon Kossounou, who is the subject of a loan bid from Atalanta. Odsonne Édouard, who joined Palace from Celtic on deadline day in 2021, could leave if Nketiah signs.