Arsenal are reportedly about to release Kelechi Nwakali for free with SD Huesca looking likely to pick up the player but are they really?

Although the player has another two years left on his Arsenal contract, it is being widely reported in Spain that the club are willing to allow Kelechi Nwakali to leave on a free transfer.

It is claimed that Arsenal have waived any fee for him but have included a sell-on clause, which is standard anyway.

He will reportedly sign a two-year deal with the Spanish second division side.

Contrary to that, transfermarkt report that Nwakali has simply joined the Spanish side on loan for the next season.

Nwakali spent last season on loan at Porto while he has also been sent to VVV Venlo and MVV Maastricht as the club struggled to get a work permit for him.

Back in April he found himself stranded in Nigeria for a month when he was unable to return to Portugal following visa problems.

This story, while probably accurate, sits weirdly with me.

Nwakali is a highly regarded young midfielder who has two years left on his Arsenal contract. His wages are negligible and it therefore makes no sense to me that we would waive his transfer fee given how we need cash and are flat-out refusing to do the same for Laurent Koscielny who has served the club well for the guts of a decade and is coming to the end of his career.

Nwakali signed a five-year contract with Arsenal when he was signed in 2016.