Arsenal are set to break their record transfer sale twice on deadline day
Arsenal’s record transfer sale is still Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain in 2017.
It’s now been nine years since the Ox made the £35million switch to Liverpool, which has been the source of some embarrassment.
Today, that record is about to be broken. Twice. Well, sort of.
As per Fabrizio Romano, Folarin Balogun has agreed personal terms with Everton in a deal worth €45million plus €5million in add-ons.
When Arsenal sold Balogun to Monaco, they inserted a 17.5% sell-on clause, and as Charles Watts has noted, that clause will net Arsenal around £6.7million from the expected £38.5million fee.
Combined with the initial £34.5million fee Arsenal received from Monaco in 2023, the total yield for the academy graduate will reach over £41million.
That would make Balogun’s overall package Arsenal’s record ever sale, overtaking Oxlade-Chamberlain for the first time in nine years.
But only briefly. Because Gabriel Martinelli’s move to Al Hilal, worth around £60million, is also set to be completed today.
And that deal, once confirmed, would immediately overtake the Balogun sell-on windfall to become Arsenal’s new record sale.
Arsenal’s struggles to sell players for big fees has been well documented, and that has long been viewed as a major blind spot in the club’s financial strategy under the PSR framework.
Rival clubs like Manchester City and Chelsea have consistently been able to generate massive profits through outgoing transfers, whereas the Gunners often saw valuable assets leave for nominal sums, mutual contract terminations, or free transfers.
But Arsenal have actually much improved that this summer, to their credit. Getting around £90million for Martinelli, Gabriel Jesus, Fabio Vieira, and Leandro Trossard is not too shabby at all.
In terms of incomings, though, it’s looking like it’s going to be a quiet end to the window for the champions of England.
A move for Julian Alvarez won’t happen, and although an approach was made to Lyon for Malick Fofana, that is now off too.
Arsenal are seemingly content with what they’ve got.
