Arsenal have agreed to deals with clubs which could see Lucas Perez and David Ospina depart the club permanently.
Goal are stating that Arsenal have reportedly agreed to deals with West Ham United and Besiktas for Lucas Perez and David Ospina respectively. Both moves are set to be permanent transfers from the club as the players seek regular game time.
Lucas Perez’s deal with West Ham has been in the pipeline for a few days now, and the player himself has reportedly now had a medical with the Hammers. It will be only a matter of time before the confirmation comes in and the deal is reportedly worth £5 million.
New West Ham boss, Manuel Pellegrini was looking at a forward option to play second fiddle to current star Marko Arnautovic. Pellegrini has no faith in Andy Carroll as the striker’s persistent battle with injuries has led to his downfall. In Perez, they might get the striker the Chilean is craving for.
On the other hand, West Ham were reportedly in talks with FC Porto’s Moussa Marega. But, the Portuguese club were demanding 36 million, the player’s release clause, something the Hammers cannot afford at the moment. Instead, the club turned their attention towards Perez, and this deal will take their spending beyond 100 million for this summer alone.
Perez joined Arsenal from Deportivo La Coruna back in the summer of 2016 but featured sporadically under Arsene Wenger. Last season after the arrival of Alexandre Lacazette, he was sent back to Deportivo on loan for the season where he scored 9 goals in 37 appearances as the Spanish side were relegated.
As for this season, initially there was hope for the player at Arsenal under the new manager, Unai Emery, but the Spaniard does not rate Perez and considers him surplus to requirements. Perez was heavily linked with a move to Sporting Lisbon, but West Ham’s late interest meant he was happy to remain in London and the Premier League.
David Ospina, on the other hand, has been subject to a move away from Arsenal for a few seasons now. Since joining Arsenal from Nice back in 2014, the Colombian has failed to nail down a regular place in the side, mostly playing second fiddle first to Wojciech Szczęsny then Petr Cech for the last three seasons.
Ospina was expected to leave Arsenal last summer but stayed put to fight for a place with Cech and currently is the third choice keeper at the club behind Petr Cech and Bernd Leno, who was signed from Bayer Leverkusen this summer.
But this time around, the Colombian stopper will be allowed to leave with Besiktas reportedly in talks with the Gunners over a deal. Ospina has long been linked with a move to Turkey and seemingly will get his wish sanctioned by Arsenal as well as the regular play time he craves.
As for both Lucas Perez and David Ospina, a new club will present them with a different challenge to prolong and probably revitalise their careers away from Arsenal. West Ham will be getting a good player who still has some years to offer, while Besiktas can make do with Ospina’s experience in top-level football.
