{"id":48797,"date":"2026-06-17T00:58:36","date_gmt":"2026-06-17T04:58:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/2026\/06\/17\/arsenal-have-been-in-talks-to-sign-85m-star-for-several-weeks\/"},"modified":"2026-06-17T00:58:36","modified_gmt":"2026-06-17T04:58:36","slug":"arsenal-have-been-in-talks-to-sign-85m-star-for-several-weeks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/2026\/06\/17\/arsenal-have-been-in-talks-to-sign-85m-star-for-several-weeks\/","title":{"rendered":"Arsenal have been in talks to sign \u00a385m star for &#8216;several weeks&#8217;"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_74 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/2026\/06\/17\/arsenal-have-been-in-talks-to-sign-85m-star-for-several-weeks\/#Arsenal_in_talks_to_sign_big-money_replacement_for_Bouadi\" >Arsenal in talks to sign big-money replacement for Bouadi<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/2026\/06\/17\/arsenal-have-been-in-talks-to-sign-85m-star-for-several-weeks\/#Why_Tonali_is_better_than_Bouadi\" >Why Tonali is better than Bouadi<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-5' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-5'><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-5' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-5'><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-5' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-5'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/2026\/06\/17\/arsenal-have-been-in-talks-to-sign-85m-star-for-several-weeks\/#Arsenal_close_to_agreement_for_bigger_talent_than_Bouadi\" >Arsenal close to agreement for bigger talent than Bouadi<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<div>\n<p>It&#8217;s rarely a good idea to sign a player based on their performances at the World Cup, but Arsenal couldn&#8217;t help but take notice of Ayyoub Bouadi&#8217;s performance for Morocco last weekend.<\/p>\n<p>    <!-- No AdsNinja v10 Client! --><!-- No AdsNinja v10 Client! --><\/p>\n<p>The 18-year-old, who plays for Lille in France, dominated a pitch filled with some of the best players of his generation.<\/p>\n<p>    Bouadi ran a ring around Casemiro, Fabinho, Bruno Guimar\u00e3es and Lucas Paqueta. He probably should have won the Official Player of the Match award over Vini Junior as well.<\/p>\n<p>Unfortunately, the Moroccan will have to wait for personal praise. But big moves may not be far off. The Gunners are one of a number of teams interested in the teenager, but he is not the only midfielder they are eyeing.<\/p>\n<p>    <!-- No AdsNinja v10 Client! --><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"arsenal-in-talks-to-sign-big-money-bouaddi-alternative\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Arsenal_in_talks_to_sign_big-money_replacement_for_Bouadi\"><\/span>\n                        <strong>Arsenal in talks to sign big-money replacement for Bouadi<\/strong><br \/>\n               <span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>It was well known that Arsenal were interested in the young midfielder even before the World Cup started.<\/p>\n<p>Some reports a few weeks ago even suggested that a bid had been made to sign Lille&#8217;s wonderkid, and although this has not been confirmed, negotiations to bring the player to the Premier League have reportedly been ongoing since January.<\/p>\n<div class=\"table-container\">\n<table border=\"1\" cellpadding=\"1\" cellspacing=\"1\" style=\"\" align=\"\" summary=\"\">\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<th colspan=\"2\" scope=\"col\" style=\"text-align:center\">\n<p>Bouadi vs Brazil<\/p>\n<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"text-align:center\">\n<p>play time<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align:center\">\n<p>90<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"text-align:center\">\n<p>touch<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align:center\">\n<p>87<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"text-align:center\">\n<p>exact path<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align:center\">\n<p>60\/66 (91%)<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"text-align:center\">\n<p>dribbling success<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align:center\">\n<p>3\/5<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"text-align:center\">\n<p>tackle<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align:center\">\n<p>4<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"text-align:center\">\n<p>clearance<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align:center\">\n<p>1<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"text-align:center\">\n<p>collect<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align:center\">\n<p>6<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"text-align:center\">\n<p>Won a ground duel<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align:center\">\n<p>9\/14<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"text-align:center\">\n<p>There is a foul<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align:center\">\n<p>2x<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table><\/div>\n<p>Arsenal aren&#8217;t the only club interested. Liverpool are also in regular talks for the Moroccan, while Chelsea are also making their own pitch to bring him to England.<\/p>\n<p>The race to sign Bouadi is expected to be fierce, and the same can be said for Newcastle United&#8217;s Sandro Tonali.<\/p>\n<div class=\"w-display-card-vignette\">\n<div class=\"qz\">\n<div class=\"qz-content\">\n<div id=\"qend\">\n<p>you scored<\/p>\n<p>out of 20<\/p>\n<p>      <button class=\"e-replay\" onclick=\"startQuiz()\">\u21a9 Play again<\/button>\n    <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p>Big news broke on Monday night that Spurs are attempting to sign the Italian, making him a likely target to strengthen their midfield this summer.<\/p>\n<p>However, according to Fabrizio Romano, Arsenal are also on board and are already doing the groundwork for the move.<\/p>\n<p>Speaking on his YouTube channel earlier in the week, he said: &#8220;Tottenham want to do something very important in terms of signing a top midfield player. The name Tottenham want is Sandro Tonali. &#8220;Roberto De Zerbi wants him. They are from Brescia in Italy and have very good connections. They are very determined to sign him. He is keen to move and is open to joining Tottenham.&#8221; Even without European football. \u201d<\/p>\n<p>    Romano continued: &#8220;Arsenal have been calling for weeks, Manchester City have been in contact for weeks, but now Tottenham are fully committed.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Valued at \u00a385 million, this won&#8217;t be a cheap deal to complete.<\/p>\n<p>    <!-- No AdsNinja v10 Client! --><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"why-tonali-would-be-better-than-bouaddi\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Why_Tonali_is_better_than_Bouadi\"><\/span>\n                        <strong>Why Tonali is better than Bouadi<\/strong><br \/>\n               <span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Questions may arise about Arsenal&#8217;s midfielder needs this summer. A year ago, they signed Martin Zvimendi for a big fee and saw Miles Lewis-Skelly break through towards the end of the 2025\/26 season.<\/p>\n<p>    But the truth is that both Declan Rice and Zvimendi simply played too much football during their title-winning campaigns.<\/p>\n<p>Both players played more games than any other outfield player on the team, which hurt them late in the season.<\/p>\n<p>Zvimendi lost his place to Lewis-Skelly after a series of tired performances while Rice received injections to control back pain. As a result, they need more depth in that area of \u200b\u200bthe pitch, whether it&#8217;s Bouadi, Tonali or other midfielders.<\/p>\n<p>In Boadi, they will be signing one of the most exciting young players on the planet right now. His performance against Brazil a few days ago was all the proof he needed.<\/p>\n<p>But in Tonali&#8217;s case, they will be signing a complete product, a player who already knows his game inside and out, a player of crucial importance to Mikel Arteta and a proven player in the Premier League.<\/p>\n<p>If the Spaniard had a preference, it would always be to sign an option that already does that in England. A big part of his recruitment strategy in recent years has been to sign Premier League players.<\/p>\n<p>Well, Tonali ticks that box and also ticks the box of helping Arsenal win. A deal with Bouadi wouldn&#8217;t be a bad deal. In fact, he would be one of the most exciting signings they could make all summer.<\/p>\n<p>But Newcastle&#8217;s Italian general has been described by his agent Beppe Rizzo as &#8220;one of the best midfielders in the world&#8221;, and for good reason.<\/p>\n<div class=\"table-container\">\n<table border=\"1\" cellpadding=\"1\" cellspacing=\"1\" style=\"\" align=\"\" summary=\"\">\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<th colspan=\"3\" scope=\"col\" style=\"text-align:center\">\n<p>Bouadi vs Tonali: 25\/26 stats<\/p>\n<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<th style=\"text-align:center\">\n<p>Statistics (every 90 minutes)<\/p>\n<\/th>\n<th style=\"text-align:center\">\n<p>Buadi<\/p>\n<\/th>\n<th style=\"text-align:center\">\n<p>Tonali<\/p>\n<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"text-align:center\">\n<p>the goal<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align:center\">\n<p>0<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align:center\">\n<p>0<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"text-align:center\">\n<p>shot<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align:center\">\n<p>0.4<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align:center\">\n<p><strong>0.7<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"text-align:center\">\n<p>assist<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align:center\">\n<p>0.1<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align:center\">\n<p>0.1<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"text-align:center\">\n<p>An opportunity has arisen<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align:center\">\n<p>0.9<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align:center\">\n<p><strong>1.2<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"text-align:center\">\n<p>Pass accuracy<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align:center\">\n<p>84%<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align:center\">\n<p>84%<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"text-align:center\">\n<p>The tackle I made<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align:center\">\n<p><strong>2.4<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align:center\">\n<p>1.3<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"text-align:center\">\n<p>won a duel<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align:center\">\n<p><strong>5.6<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align:center\">\n<p>3.8<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"text-align:center\">\n<p>Number of balls collected<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align:center\">\n<p><strong>5.9<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align:center\">\n<p>5.3<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"text-align:center\">\n<p>foul win<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align:center\">\n<p>1.0<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align:center\">\n<p><strong>1.5<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"text-align:center\">\n<p>progressive action<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align:center\">\n<p>3.36<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align:center\">\n<p><strong>4.46<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"text-align:center\">\n<p>progressive carry<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align:center\">\n<p><strong>1.39<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align:center\">\n<p>1.10<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"text-align:center\">\n<p>progressive path<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align:center\">\n<p>1.97<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align:center\">\n<p><strong>3.36<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table><\/div>\n<p>As far as data goes, there&#8217;s not much that can separate them. At 6-foot-1, Bouadi has a big frame and long legs that allow him to overcome huge defensive tasks.<\/p>\n<p>He makes more tackles and wins more duels per 90 minutes. That being said, Tonali is a more progressive player and that&#8217;s what they need as they look to find a more capable partner for Rice than Zvimendi.<\/p>\n<p>    One of the biggest criticisms of the Spaniard last season was his inability to progress his game. He recorded only 3.03 progressive actions per 90 minutes, far behind Tonali and only slightly behind Bouadi.<\/p>\n<p>Neither player is a bad player, but the Italian is perhaps a better fit for what Arteta and his team are looking for at the moment.<\/p>\n<div class=\"display-card  article article-card small  no-badge  active-content                              \" data-include-community-rating=\"false\" id=\"arsenal-close-to-agreeing-move-to-sign-monga-bigger-talent-than-bouaddi\" data-nosnippet=\"\">\n<p>                        <\/p>\n<p>                    <span data-field=\"label\" class=\"article-card-label\"><label>related<\/label><\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"w-display-card-content regular article-block\">\n<h5 class=\"display-card-title \"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Arsenal_close_to_agreement_for_bigger_talent_than_Bouadi\"><\/span>\n<p>\t\t\tArsenal close to agreement for bigger talent than Bouadi<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h5>\n<p class=\"display-card-excerpt\">Arsenal are considering signing a number of talented young players.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It&#8217;s rarely a good idea to sign a player based on their performances at the World Cup, but Arsenal couldn&#8217;t help but take notice of Ayyoub Bouadi&#8217;s performance for Morocco last weekend. The 18-year-old, who plays for Lille in France, dominated a pitch filled with some of the best players of his generation. Bouadi ran [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":48798,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[8227,44,40,43,86,488,4195],"class_list":["post-48797","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-football","tag-85m","tag-arsenal","tag-football","tag-sign","tag-star","tag-talks","tag-weeks"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48797","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=48797"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48797\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/48798"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=48797"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=48797"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=48797"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}