The potential transfer of Joel Campbell to Palermo is still pootling along at a snail’s pace, believe it or not.

The Italian club were rumoured to have initially offered £3.5m for the winger, who has only played 10 matches for us since joining in 2012, with us demanding double that. However, the agent handling the deal, Gianluca Forini, has said that Arsenal are being ‘difficult‘ and ‘annoying’.

“The negotiations ran aground,” Forini is reported to have said. “Arsenal are a club difficult to deal with. There is a will from Palermo to bring Joel Campbell to Italy. However, we are a bit annoyed by the reaction of the Gunners and we are considering other targets.”

Despite being with us for three years, the 23-year-old hasn’t quite managed to find a spot in the starting 11 and has instead seen several loan spells at Lorient, Betis, Olympiacos, and Villarreal. The latter were thought to be interested in obtaining his services on a permanent basis but nothing seemed to come of that and now the Serie A team seem serious about signing him.

I do think a deal will be met because, as much potential as he has, I fail to see how Campbell fits into our squad at the moment and simply loaning him out again is perhaps a waste. Hopefully the deal is finished soon and he can begin playing football again.