Mikel Arteta says Eddie Nketiah is going to stay at Arsenal, but the rumours around a potential transfer persist all the same.

Speaking in his pre-Liverpool press conference, Mikel Arteta was bullish on Eddie Nketiah’s future. The young striker has a deal lasting until the summer, and the Arsenal manager insists he’ll be staying with the club until then.

“The situation is that Eddie is our player and Eddie is going to stay here with us,” Arteta said.

“He’s our player and he’s under contract, so he will stay with us.”

Yet reports from around England aren’t so clear. Sami Mokbel of the Daily Mail reports that Crystal Palace are trying to sign Nketiah this month, although his wages are proving an issue at the moment.

Mokbel adds that Nketiah has interest from Germany and France in a summer free transfer, which makes it difficult for the English clubs after him to compete financially.

English teams can’t tie Nketiah to a pre-contract agreement this month, so they’d have to pay a transfer fee to land him now. Even in the summer, they’d likely have to pay a hefty compensation fee to Arsenal. Foreign clubs don’t have that issue.

The Times also report that Palace are in talks with Arsenal over a move for Nketiah. They claim Palace saw a £12m bid for the player rejected last summer, and they’re now trying to land him ahead of Newcastle United and Brighton.

Newcastle’s potential interest in Nketiah has likely since been dulled by the fact they’re signing Chris Wood from Burnley.

Regardless, it seems that despite Arteta’s insistence to the contrary, we could still get an update on Nketiah’s long-term future this month.