21-year-old now in advanced talks to leave Arsenal with agreement close

A 21-year-old Arsenal player is in advanced talks to leave and an agreement is thought to be close, as manager Mikel Arteta and sporting director Edu Gaspar look to trim their squad.

Players who could be sold by Arsenal this summer

Midfielder Albert Sambi Lokonga, who impressed on loan at Luton Town last season, looks likely to be the first senior player to follow Mohamed Elneny and Cedric Soares out of the Hale End exit door.

Spanish reports late last week claimed that Lokonga has reached an agreement to join Sevilla from Arsenal, with esteemed English press now also backing that the 24-year-old is a serious transfer target for Quique Sanchez Flores (Simon Collings).

Lokonga has already admitted he’s likely to quit Arsenal, with Sevilla looking to offer the Belgian a way out. He made 17 Premier League appearances and registered three assists during his time under Luton boss Rob Edwards last season, and this form has seemingly done enough to turn heads at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan Stadium.

It’ll be interesting to see if Sevilla can strike a club-to-club deal for Lokonga, but if not, there are many other candidates for Edu to sell off and bolster his transfer kitty.

Thomas Partey, Aaron Ramsdale, Reiss Nelson, Gabriel Jesus, Fabio Vieira, Emile Smith Rowe, Eddie Nketiah and Nuno Tavares have all been linked with an Emirates Stadium exit within the last few months, with the aforementioned bunch facing uncertain futures.

Partey’s deal expires this time next year, and he made just 14 top-flight appearances last season. Time is running out for Arsenal to make any money back on the £45 million fee they paid to sign the 31-year-old from Atletico Madrid four years ago.

Meanwhile, goalkeeper Ramsdale lost his number one spot between the sticks to David Raya last season – and the general consensus is he’ll look to move on. Uncertainty also surrounds the future of young striker Mika Biereth, despite productive loan spells at Motherwell and Sturm Graz last campaign.

Biereth in advanced talks to rejoin Sturm Graz from Arsenal

The Dane racked up nine goals and four assists during a half-season loan at the latter side, with their director Andreas Schicker even recently confirming that he’s in talks to bring him back to Sturm Graz.

Now, Football Insider journalist Pete O’Rourke shares a further update on the matter. He writes that Biereth is in advanced talks to re-join Strum Graz from Arsenal, and an agreement for a second loan is believed to be close.

The Austrians want him back for 2024/2025 after his goalscoring exploits last season, and it looks as if they may be on the verge of getting their wish.