morning.
A very quick Friday blog for you all. We start with the news that Albert Sambi Lokonga will join Sevilla on loan for the season. According to various reports, the deal will be done today, with the Spanish side having a €12m option to make the deal permanent if things go well. I think that option is unlikely to actually be exercised, but who knows. If he goes there and does well, they may decide to do so.
According to The Athletic (£), Arsenal have a 25% sell-on clause if they exercise that option, so it would make sense if he gets his career back on track and moves on later. It’s hard to say. On the one hand, it feels like a pretty disappointing move, but on the other hand, I don’t think a club outside the Premier League would pay more than €12m.
It is perhaps significant that there was no significant interest from English clubs. Fiorentina took up the case, but that was it, and ultimately he did not want to go there. Furthermore, we are talking about a player whose career has been stagnant for various reasons. It did not work for him at Arsenal, he showed a bit here and there on loan at Luton last season, but injuries broke his rhythm, and he has not really been able to build consistent form and attract enough interest from other Premier League clubs.
How do you realistically evaluate a player like that? I remember people going crazy when they let Matteo Guenduzi go for a pretty low fee, but there are good examples of mid-level players who have had mid-level careers at mid-level clubs for much less than what many people were suggesting. He’s playing for I don’t care a shit right now and everything is going well so you don’t have to think about him again.
So good luck to Sambi. The best case scenario for him and us is that he has a good season, Sevilla don’t take that option and there will be more market for him next summer, but for now he’s somewhere else. I wish him the best.
Meanwhile, our goalkeeper search continues. After a £3.50 (near trippy) bid for Dan Bentley from Wolves, our attention has turned to Ajax’s England U20 goalkeeper, Tommy Thetford, according to Fabrizio Romano. I don’t know much about him other than his name, but he could be a peaky blinder, but I found this article on the Ajax website that gives a bit of background information.
As things stand, David Raya and Aaron Ramsdale are still in the Euros, with England and Spain playing in the final on Sunday. Both need rest, but they won’t be overly tired due to the amount of game time. Raya has played one game and Ramsdale hasn’t played at all, but they haven’t played and need rest. Karl Hain is the sole first-choice goalkeeper, and part of his new contract is a guarantee that he will be out on loan this season to get the game time he needs.
However, with two veterans returning, there are big questions about Ramsdale and it is still unclear where he will go, but it seems certain that he will leave in some way. So there is a lot of work to be done and two goalkeepers may need to be brought in this transfer window. Even Inaki ‘Boys’ Job’ Kana could run out of options, but we will see what happens.
Okay, that’s all for now. Have a great Friday, everyone.
