Six different clubs are interested in a deadline day move for Danny Welbeck, according to reports, as Arsenal hope to complete a number of sales before 5pm.
The Times write that Southampton and Valencia are ‘keen’ on the Arsenal forward, who is now in the final year of his contract. The Sky reporter stationed at St. Mary’s Stadium for deadline day confirmed this news, but adds that the player’s high wages could be a problem for Southampton.
The Telegraph add Everton, Fulham, Newcastle and Besiktas to the list of interested parties. Besiktas are a particularly interesting one, since reports from Turkey suggest Arsenal are talking to the club over David Ospina and an unnamed second player. That player could well be Welbeck, as the media have linked him to Besiktas before.
Besiktas and Valencia don’t have any urgent time constraints, as they could still complete a deal for Welbeck up until the end of August. However, the other four clubs only have until today’s 5pm Premier League deadline.
As a result, you’d expect Arsenal to push the two foreign clubs to get their bids in now as well. It’ll be a lot more difficult to get a decent fee when Valencia and Besiktas are the only two teams who can actually buy the striker. We’ll see what happens.