Arsenal move for ideal Nelson upgrade in £51m “entertainer”

It’s been a fortnight since the transfer window officially opened, and while we’ve all been enjoying the Euros, Premier League sides have been hard at work trying to bring in new faces and get rid of old ones.

Arsenal are no different in this regard, as on Thursday, they announced their first signing of the summer: 18-year-old goalkeeper Lucas Nygaard.

However, there is plenty more work to be done as, based on recent reports, Reiss Nelson could soon be on his way out of the club and Edu Gaspar and Co appear to have already identified the perfect replacement.

Arsenal transfer news

According to a recent report from Caught Offside, Arsenal are interested in signing PSV star Johan Bakayoko this summer and have already held talks with the Dutch club over a potential move.

Alongside the Gunners, the report has claimed that Chelsea, Liverpool, Bayern Munich, RB Leipzig and Borussia Dortmund are also keen on the exciting winger, but the interest from the English sides hinges on selling players first, while none of the German teams have held talks with PSV.

It won’t be a cheap deal to complete either, as the report has revealed that the Eindhoven outfit value their young star at between €55m and €60m, which converts to £47m to £51m.

However, with Nelson likely to leave in the coming weeks and Bukayo Saka lacking any real rivals at right wing, this seems like a transfer well worth pursuing.

How Bakayoko compares to Nelson

So, if Bakayoko is going to replace Nelson as the go-to backup on the right wing, how does he compare to the Englishman?

In terms of pure output, there really isn’t any competition at all. In his 48 appearances last season, the Belgian racked up 14 goals and 14 assists, meaning he averaged a goal involvement every 1.71 games.

In stark contrast, the Hale End graduate scored one goal and provided two assists in three games, equating to an average of a goal involvement every 7.66 matches.

In his defence, the Englishman only played 641 minutes of first-team football, which makes direct comparisons difficult, but the problem is that he got just 590 minutes the campaign before.

His last run of consistent first-team football came in 2021/22 when he spent the season on loan with Feyenoord.

While he did reasonably well, his return of four goals and seven assists in 32 games still pales in comparison to the PSV star’s from last season.

In fact, perhaps the most damning comparison and the one that proves the “insane” Belgian, dubbed by data analyst Ben Mattinson, would be a big upgrade, is that Nelson has racked up as many goal involvements in his 121 first-team games for the Gunners and Feyenoord – 28 – as the Overijse-born winger did last season alone.

Ultimately, Bakayoko looks to be the perfect replacement for Nelson and based on the aforementioned output of the pair, it may be worth signing the 21-year-old “entertainer”, as dubbed by Mattinson, regardless of the Hale End graduate’s future.