Fulham have agreed to re-sign free agent Ryan Sessegnon and are advancing on a £35million deal for Arsenal‘s Emile Smith-Rowe.
It comes after the Gunners rejected an initial bid of £30m for the 23-year-old Arsenal academy graduate.
The attacking midfielder’s contract at the Emirates is set to run out in 2026 and it is understood that Crystal Palace have also held an interest in signing him.
Smith-Rowe did not feature during Arsenal’s 2-1 win against Bournemouth in California earlier on Thursday, with Mikel Arteta giving an update on his future.
‘Yeah there are things happening in the background at the moment. We decided the best thing to do was to keep him away from the game today,’ the Gunners boss said after the match.
Fulham are closing in on a deal to sign Arsenal’s Emile Smith-Rowe (pictured) on a £35million deal
Marco Silva’s (pictured) side have already had a £30m bid rejected for the 23-year-old midfielder
Fulham have also agreed a deal to sign Tottenham free-agent Ryan Sessegnon (pictured)
While a lengthy knee injury would keep Smith-Rowe out for a portion of the season, the Arsenal midfielder would only make 19 appearances for his club during the 2023-24 season – starting in just three Premier League games.
Following Arsenal’s 2-0 win against Luton in March, Smith-Rowe opened up on his difficulties breaking into the first team.
‘It’s been a long time since I started. It’s been a tough season for me. I was getting cramp after 50 minutes; it’s been a tough season. I haven’t played as much as I would have liked,’ he told TNT Sports.
There has been much speculation that the midfielder, who has been capped three times by England in 2021 and 2022, would leave the north London outfit this summer in search of more regular first team football.
Mikel Arteta (pictured) today stated that Smith-Rowe did not play in his side’s pre-season friendly against Bournemouth because of ‘things going on in the background’
Sessegnon, 24, started his career at Fulham before joining Tottenham and had been training with Crystal Palace. He has signed a two year deal with option for another year.
A Fulham academy graduate, Sessegnon would leave the west London side in 2019, to join Tottenham.
He would enjoy a loan spell with Hoffenheim in 2020 before returning to Spurs the following season.
