Guimares to Newcastle is almost done, it is 42m euros plus a further 8m euros if Newcastle avoid relegation. So a £42m deal. When you have unlimited money and are in Newcastle's position getting a player like this in isn’t a huge deal for them. Almost feels like when City got Robinho. As long as they stay up it doesn't matter if he is a success or not because it does more in terms of legitimises their ambitions and will attract others.

Newcastle will go crazy in the summer if they stay up. It is another 'sigh' moment for football though, how long before Newcastle are permanently in the Champions League places or winning titles? The wealth is like nothing we've seen before, it could be under 5 years

So with the American GK not coming in until the summer I presume that means Leno stays until then also. Then he'll have 1 year left on his deal so we'd probably be lucky to generate much more than £10m for him. At 29 he's still quite young for a GK.

Barcelona and Juve have made official approaches to take Aubameyang on loan until the summer.

If we can't get a striker in you'd have to turn it down.

However, if we can and if we want to be rid of Aubameyang permanently in the summer (still 1 year left on his deal at that point) then sending him on loan to a huge european club in the hope he gets some form and entices them to move permanently wouldn't be the worst strategic move

Saw this table in twitter.

There are some obvious mitigating circumstances in there. Also shows the best sales have come from academy players.
T\he glaring ones are probably getting no fee for Ramsey, Wilshere and Welbeck. And then also almost being forced to release certain players for free because of their age and size of wage/contract.

Özil obviously stands out as well

Saliba was named in the French league team of the week for the 8th time this season. If we hadn't already signed him we and many others would be all over him. We need to make sure this goes right when he comes back in the summer.
Every top club in the world is looking for CB who are: Tall, quick, strong, technically excellent, good passers, front foot defenders rather than sliding tackle types and young........ Van Dijk kind of raised the bar here and that is what everyone is now looking for.

I never knew just how good Everton was in the '80s. Liverpool and them both very good at the same time must have had that city rocking. I can only imagine. I can also only imagine just how much intracity violence, hooliganism, that probably went on there. I'm guessing at that.

Nketiah to Newcastle it seems. We are definitely bringing in a striker.

You’re ahead of the game with that news about Nketiah. Hope that you’re right about incoming but I’m not that optimistic.

If Nketiah goes and Aubameyang remains in exile I think that leaves us with just 19 first team players.
GK: Ramsdale, Leno
RB: Tomiyasu, Cédric
LB: Tierney, Tavares
CB: Gabriel, White, Holding
CM: Partey, Xhaka, Lokonga, Elneny
AM: Ødegaard
LW: Emile Smith Rowe, Martinelli
RW: Saka, Pépé
FW: Lacazette

Feels like we need at least 3-4 players in if this is the state of affairs. Surely at least 2 will come but we've backed ourselves in to a corner a bit so may end up panicking or overpaying. We might have more players on loan that available to pick for the next game!

Reading about the potential deals in this window really highlights the stupid nature of football.

This or that player might leave on a loan without an obligation but first the selling club themselves need to get a new player in on a loan without an obligation to allow the other loan to take place. I mean you wot ! There’s probably more loans than actual transfers, at what point do they say we won’t bother.

They should ban loans to ensure there’s more accountability and ownership from the players and clubs

Barcelona and Juve have made official approaches to take Aubameyang on loan until the summer.

If we can't get a striker in you'd have to turn it down.

However, if we can and if we want to be rid of Aubameyang permanently in the summer (still 1 year left on his deal at that point) then sending him on loan to a huge european club in the hope he gets some form and entices them to move permanently wouldn't be the worst strategic move

Saliba was named in the French league team of the week for the 8th time this season. If we hadn't already signed him we and many others would be all over him. We need to make sure this goes right when he comes back in the summer.
Every top club in the world is looking for CB who are: Tall, quick, strong, technically excellent, good passers, front foot defenders rather than sliding tackle types and young........ Van Dijk kind of raised the bar here and that is what everyone is now looking for.

Nketiah to Newcastle it seems. We are definitely bringing in a striker.

I also have no doubt agents use Arsenal (and other clubs) names with supposed interest in order to get their clients new deals. Danilo in brazil and Cody Gakpo were both recently linked to Arsenal and both less than 2 weeks later signed new deals with their respective clubs.

Was hoping he would come good, and surprised how poor he is. Good sale if it happens.

Huge shame we will never see him play for our first team.
He has all the attributes to be a success.

Offer is meant to be £9.5m

If he doesn’t it’s a question I’ve asked before. Will Saliba be the most expensive player to have never played a competitive game for his new club? There was that guy, Emiliano Saka, who died in a plane crash shortly after joining Cardiff, but I don’t think he cost £27m.

I think Sailba has mentally burnt his bridges with us.
Sending him out on loan again was the last straw for him and he must think Arteta doesn't rate him.
He is playing every week for Marseille.
Why on earth would he want to come and be 3rd in the pecking order behind white and Gabriel.
Huge shame we will never see him play for our first team.
He has all the attributes to be a success.

In comparative prices Clive Allen may be our most expensive player to never play. Paid 1.25 million around 1980. Given what that was worth at the time it was a lot of money.

That’s true. £1.25m back then was probably worth more in the transfer market than £27m when Saliba joined. At least Allen was used to get who I still see as the club’s greatest left back since I’ve been watching them.

I still think ‘greatest of all time’ is a nonsense phrase to use, unless you’ve been watching Arsenal since 1886, and will live until the club no longer exists.

Actually, OMOH and LTG may well be entitled to use the term.