Newcastle United are in talks to sign Aaron Ramsdale from Southampton, with Arsenal holding a sell-on clause, but there’s no agreement on the structure of a deal.
Keith Downie broke the news for Sky Sports News on Monday afternoon that Aaron Ramsdale is in talks to sign for Newcastle United.
With Newcastle missing out on James Trafford to Manchester City, the club have now turned to Ramsdale, having also shown an interest in the goalkeeper last summer.
That would potentially be good news for Arsenal, with Ramsdale having a sell-on clause in his Southampton contract. But there are reportedly no guarantees it will be a permanent transfer this summer.
David Ornstein reports for The Athletic that though Newcastle are indeed in talks to sign Ramsdale, their initial offer is a loan with a purchase option.
Southampton’s preference would be for a permanent transfer, and in the event of a loan, they’d want to bring in a significant loan fee. As a result, there’s no agreement between the clubs so far.
Arsenal will obviously be hoping for a permanent transfer, as a loan with an option wouldn’t net them any extra cash this summer.
Ramsdale joined Southampton from Arsenal for an initial £18m, with £7m potentially due in bonus payments.
Those add-on clauses are also unlikely to be activated if the goalkeeper leaves this summer, and the Gunners have already missed out on the £1m due if the Saints avoided relegation.
So a loan would be the worst scenario, earning Arsenal neither sell-on money nor add-on money. But a permanent transfer could see the Gunners get some extra cash this summer.