Brighton & Hove Albion reportedly retain an interest in Arsenal attacker Reiss Nelson, whom the Gunners are open to selling for around £30m.
Brighton & Hove Albion reportedly remain interested in a deal for fringe Arsenal attacker Reiss Nelson.
The 24-year-old was believed to have been on the Seagulls’ radar towards the end of the 2022-23 season, before committing his future to Arsenal with a new four-year deal, which includes the option for another 12 months.
Nelson was handed his renewal on the back of a heroic display against Bournemouth in March 2023, where he provided an assist for Ben White and scored an injury-time winner as Mikel Arteta‘s men came from two goals down to win 3-2.
Nelson’s swerving shot into the Cherries net sparked scenes of unbridled pandemonium within the Emirates walls, and even though the Gunners fell short in the title race to Manchester City, the former England youth international won the Premier League’s Game Changer of the Season prize for that remarkable cameo.
In addition, Nelson scored twice in a 5-0 win over Nottingham Forest after coming off the bench to replace the injured Bukayo Saka, but the Hale End graduate has not seen his fortunes improve under Arteta in the current campaign.
© Reuters
All 14 of the winger’s Premier League appearances this season have come from the bench – as well as four of his five Champions League outings – and his only starts have come in the EFL Cup and FA Cup.
Nelson’s solitary goal of the campaign so far was the winner in a 1-0 EFL Cup third-round success over Brentford, while he also provided assists in both of Arsenal’s Champions League group matches against PSV.
However, the former England youth international did not earn any minutes across the Gunners’ two last-16 legs against Porto, in spite of the fact that Arteta’s men struggled to break down the Dragons’ defences.
According to TEAMtalk, Nelson is now open to an exit from the Emirates, and Brighton have already made contact with the attacker’s representatives to gauge his interest in a summer move.
Arteta apparently promised Nelson a more prominent role in the team for the 2023-24 season, but it has not panned out that way for the Englishman, whose lack of minutes have frustrated him.
© Reuters
While he remains a peripheral figure at Arsenal, Brighton apparently believe that Nelson has “untapped potential”, and the Gunners would be open to selling their academy product for around £30m.
With Nelson coming through the Hale End ranks and spending his whole senior career in North London – barring loans to Hoffenheim and Feyenoord – his exit would go down as pure profit on Arsenal’s accounts, which would be a major boost in terms of Financial Fair Play.
The 24-year-old joined the Gunners’ youth ranks in 2007 and was once considered one of the brightest talents in the club’s academy, but he has only come up with eight goals and nine assists from 88 matches in red and white.
However, injuries have not helped the Englishman, who sustained two separate thigh problems in the 2022-23 season, causing him to miss 17 games across all tournaments.
