Fulham are in advanced talks with Arsenal for the signing of Reiss Nelson, but the deal is not done yet and the exact nature of the transfer is unclear.
Following his season-long loan to Fulham in 2024/25, Reiss Nelson is once again being linked with a move back to Marco Silva’s team this summer.
David Ornstein reports for The Athletic that Fulham are in advanced talks with Arsenal over the signing, with discussions centring on either a loan with a buy option or a permanent transfer.
Ornstein adds that if the move is a loan deal with a purchase clause, then it would be for a significant fee. Arsenal would prefer an obligation to buy over an option. The journalist suggests a move is now close, but not guaranteed.
Responding to questions about Nelson in a press conference this week, Fulham boss Marco Silva refused to confirm anything.
“Reiss Nelson was with us last season. He was very unlucky in terms of his injury record last season,” Silva said. “Perhaps in his best moment of the season, he had a bad injury that broke the momentum.
“But he’s not our player right now, he’s an Arsenal player, so I’m not going to talk about players from another club.”
On Fulham’s situation in general, Silva admitted this summer has been disappointing on the transfer front so far.
“Myself as a manager, and all the managers, they would prefer to have the squad almost complete in this stage of the pre-season,” Silva said. “Until now, it’s not been possible. And I understand the fans.
“But what I can tell them is we are working hard, we haven’t started in terms of signings. But we have a lot of business to do in this market.”
Sky Sports News recently reported that though Nelson is currently away with Arsenal for pre-season, Fulham are indeed continuing to work on a deal to sign the winger.
Sami Mokbel of the BBC had confirmed earlier this month that Arsenal had received an approach from Fulham for Nelson’s signing.
The winger has a contract until 2027 but with an option to extend to 2028, so he effectively still has three years remaining on his deal. He was involved in Arsenal’s first pre-season friendly against AC Milan on Wednesday.