Arsenal sporting director Edu will "genuinely" look into signing a marquee star this summer as journalist Dean Jones eases FFP worries.
Arsenal endure quiet January transfer window
Despite a lot of noise in the build-up to January, manager Mikel Arteta was forced to watch on as other Premier League sides spent while the Gunners were fairly inactive.
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Arsenal were widely linked with a striker, midfielder and new full-backs in the months leading up to winter, but Edu's transfer plans ultimately amounted to nothing despite their glaring need in some areas.
After spending over £200 million last summer, journalist Graeme Bailey, among others, put Arsenal's inactivity down to both a cautionary FFP approach and a limited mid-season budget.
“Arsenal spent a lot of money in the summer window. Spending the amount of money they did on Declan Rice, it has implications,” the transfer expert explained to Arsenal Insider last month.
“We’ve seen big new contracts handed out in the last season or so, Martin Odegaard, Bukayo Saka, and Gabriel Martinelli all signed new deals. In the January window, you do tend to overpay."
Brentford star Ivan Toney is one name who was regularly mentioned as a top striker target for Arsenal, and still is. The 27-year-old has just recently returned to action after serving a long footballing ban for alleged gambling breaches, and he's already bagged two goals in two league starts since.
Appearances
126
Goals
70
Assists
21
Bookings
27
Minutes played
10,710
Toney is undoubtedly going to be mentioned in the build-up to summer as well, with Jones sharing a small update to GiveMeSport while also easing some concerns surrounding FFP.
Edu set to "genuinely" look into signing Toney
Indeed, it is believed Arsenal will "genuinely" look into signing Toney and the club are actually in very healthy shape when it comes to avoiding the sanctions of breaching Profit and Sustainability Rules.
Everton and Nottingham Forest are the latest cautionary tales in regards to what could happen if you go over the line in that regard, with Sean Dyche's side already docked 10 points this season.
However, that isn't something Arsenal will have to be concerned about too soon.
"Arsenal suffered losses over the three seasons up to 2021/22 and have been rumoured to be on UEFA’s watchlist in the past in relation to Financial Fair Play," wrote Jones.
"However, UEFA’s old version of FFP is very different to the Premier League’s and the club have also stated a £122m Covid impact on revenue in their accounts.
"This figure, even before any other PSR exemptions, gets them to an adjusted three-year PSR calculation of a loss of £28.15m, well within EPL limits. Arsenal have prospects of signing a top striker and midfielder – and they may look to bring another exciting wide player too. Ivan Toney is rated upwards of £70million and is regarded as a player they genuinely will look into signing."