PSV Eindhoven are reportedly open to selling attacking starlet Johan Bakayoko for only €20m (£17m) this summer, thus opening the door for Arsenal to complete a critical piece of business.
According to the Eindhovens Dagblad (ED), the 22-year-old Belgian international is shortly going to be in the final year of his contract at the Phillips Stadion. Thus, PSV are prepared to cash in for whatever value remains.
This is the same publication that claimed Arsenal had enquired over the terms of a deal almost 12 months to the day.
PSV’s hope is supposedly to rake in £17m – a far cry from the £37m accepted two years ago when Brentford came calling, only for Bakayoko to say no to the deal.
So for the Gunners, it marks a major opportunity to deal with a problem that plagued them last season.
Bukayo Saka’s injury against Crystal Palace on December 21 last season can be taken as a key moment in the title race. Mikel Arteta lost his most creative player for over three months, by which time Liverpool were cruising to first place without question.
No direct replacement sat behind the Englishman in case of such an unlucky circumstance.
Meanwhile in the Netherlands, Bakayoko added 12 goals and three assists to his tally for his boyhood club PSV. He made his debut as a 19-year-old in 2022 with an overall record that now stands at 63 goals and 40 assists in 207 senior appearances.
In spite of such youth, he has also broken into the senior Belgian set-up with 18 caps earned to date.
For Arsenal, football.london knows the priority is to sign a striker. Martin Zubimendi is also the subject of a £55m agreement.
But extra attacking reinforcements are of the essence too, and here PSV have granted a £17m pass at their brightest talent.
He is known to the club not only for a reported enquiry but also from Champions League ties in each of the past two seasons.
In last season’s round-of-16 meetings he was understandably rendered ineffective as Arteta’s man ran out 7-1 winners in the first leg, but in the 2-2 return meeting at the Emirates Stadium he was the visitors’ spark with the most dribbles completed amongst their cohort.
Being able to square up to Arsenal’s defenders is a good sign, and England is evidently a move that interests the winger.
“I see myself playing everywhere, anywhere. I follow the Premier League — I have friends there. I also have friends that play in Germany, so I watch a lot of games when they play.
“But this season I haven’t even talked about leaving. I was just thinking about preparing for the Euros, just trying my best to be fit,” he admitted to ED last year.
But, he also added: “It is also possible that I will leave next year (2025), but I still have to discuss it carefully with my agent.
“It will also partly depend on PSV, where I will play next season.
“I can handle a place at the top. If I were to leave Eindhoven, it would only be to a club that plays for trophies, just like PSV. Becoming champion is what I want. And win the Champions League. I have the qualities for that.
“PSV has won the title and achieved something again in Europe. That mission has been completed, but now we have to see whether there will be a next mission and what the club has left for me.”
The Gunners have proven over three years they can offer Bakayoko regular challenges for silverware; they just need to rubber stamp their progress with a long-awaited success.
