Ed Aarons of The Guardian reported this week that Bournemouth had emerged as potential suitors for Eddie Nketiah as they searched for a replacement for Dominic Solanke, and that they may meet Arsenal’s asking price for the player.
Aarons wrote that Bournemouth could test Arsenal’s resolve to keep Nketiah after seeing a bid rejected by Porto for Evanilson.
Yet Simon Collings of The Standard suggested that interest in Evanilson remained ongoing, with Bournemouth holding further talks with Porto on Wednesday.
Fabrizio Romano now reports that a deal is done, with Bournemouth agreeing the €47m (£40.3m) transfer of Evanilson with a 10% sell-on clause and a medical booked.
David Ornstein had initially reported that Nketiah was among the options Bournemouth were looking at following the departure of Dominic Solanke to Tottenham Hotspur over the weekend. He added that Nketiah was on a shortlist of potential options.
Reports last week suggested Arsenal were ready to sanction Nketiah’s departure to Marseille on a season-long loan with an obligation to buy in the region of €30m.
But Marseille opted to sign Wahi instead, with various outlets confirming that the decision brought their pursuit of Nketiah to an end. Now it seems Bournemouth have done similar.
Nketiah made 37 appearances for Arsenal last season, though just 13 of those were starts. The striker has featured for the Gunners regularly in pre-season, with just days to go until the start of the new Premier League campaign.