According to reports from The Sun, Real Madrid are planning a £25million transfer bid for Arsenal midfielder Aaron Ramsey.
What’s the word?
It seems even a FIFA-imposed transfer ban can’t stop The Sun from speculating about Real’s plans for the coming windows, claiming the European champions are looking to prise away the Arsenal ace in a bid to unite him with Wales team-mate Gareth Bale.
Los Blancos believe they have a chance of signing the midfielder – whose versatility they view as a huge potential asset for their squad – for the relatively modest price of £25million because his contract expires in under two years and he’s grown frustrated with increasingly limited opportunities to impress in central roles.
Should Arsenal sell?
There’s no doubt Ramsey is a hugely talented player, evident enough through his talismanic performances for Wales and a 2013/14 campaign that saw him bag a career-best ten goals in 23 appearances – with plenty of absolute stunners on the way.
But fitting the 25-year-old into the starting Xi has proved an eternally difficult task for Arsene Wenger, who has utilised Ramsey as a right winger, a deep-lying midfielder and a No.10 without settling on any position long-term. His chances of holding down any of those roles are currently rather slim, with Theo Walcott scoring for fun on the flank, Mesut Ozil undisputed at the tip of midfield and the likes of Francis Coquelin, Santi Cazorla, Mohamed Elneny and Granit Xhaka all vying for places in the double-pivot.
At the same time, proneness to injury has affected Ramsey’s development and his importance to Arsenal’s fortunes. He’s managed more than 30 appearances in a single Premier League season just thrice from nine campaigns in north London, albeit the most recent instance coming last term.
So with Ramsey reportedly disillusioned by the situation and his contract winding down, there’s plenty of weight behind the argument to sell. But £25million is hardly an outstanding return on the Welshman’s ability and to make matters worse, The Sun claim Real Madrid could end up paying just over half of that because Arsenal still owe them £11million from Mesut Ozil’s transfer in summer 2013.
Stats courtesy of Squawka.
How likely is a deal?
In Football FanCast’s opinion, not that likely. Wenger’s clearly a huge fan of the midfielder, shown through the determination in which he’s attempted to shoehorn Ramsey into his starting XIs when available. If Ramsey were to leave the club, he’d probably have to push for an exit himself, rather than Wenger simply accepting Real Madrid’s bid.
At the same time, the stumbling blocks from Real’s perspective are impossible to ignore. They’re optimistic of overturning the transfer ban according to The Sun, but FFC aren’t quite so convinced. FIFA have been toughening up in this regard and showed Barcelona no mercy for a similar crime, banning the Catalans for two transfer windows in 2015.
Furthermore, Real Madrid’s midfield is already rather congested; Luka Modric, Mateo Kovacic, Toni Kroos, Isco, Casemiro, James Rodriguez and Marco Asensio are all fantastic talents, whilst Gareth Bale and Cristiano Ronaldo remain indisputable options on the wing. Would Ramsey really be interested in leaving Arsenal to become a squad option at the Bernabeu?
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