A £120,000-per-week Arsenal player is reportedly now a "top target" for one club outside the UK transfer window, with the player seen as their main priority to sign before they can no longer make new additions.
Players who left Arsenal in 2024 summer window
Manager Mikel Arteta and sporting director Edu Gaspar offloaded a host of assets during the summer window, which closed last Friday, including some pretty big names.
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Emile Smith-Rowe was the biggest of them all, after the midfielder became Fulham's club-record signing for an initial £27 million, which could rise to £34 million with add-ons included.
The attacking midfielder has started all three of Fulham's opening Premier League matches, scoring his first goal for the club recently, and he'll be looking to eventually work his way back into the England set-up in time for the 2026 USA World Cup.
Tottenham (away)
September 15
Man City (away)
September 22
Leicester City (home)
September 28
Southampton (home)
October 5
Bournemouth (away)
October 19
Alongside Smith-Rowe, Eddie Nketiah sealed a £30 million switch to Crystal Palace, where he'll have the exact same goal as his Smith-Rowe – eventual England contention.
Aaron Ramsdale, Mohamed Elneny, Cedric Soares, Fabio Vieira, Albert Sambi Lokonga, Nuno Tavares, Reiss Nelson and Karl Hein also left the Emirates Stadium over the summer window, but there are a couple of players who couldn't seal an exit, despite repeated links.
Thomas Partey was regularly tipped to leave Arsenal, and Arteta will be thankful to have not given the green-light on a transfer away for the Ghanaian, as the Gunners are now very short in midfield for their looming north London derby trip to north London.
Theoretically, Partey could still depart with both the Turkish and Greek windows still open, but a suspension for Declan Rice and injury to summer signing Mikel Merino highlights just how crucial the 31-year-old will be for Arteta in the coming months.
Left-back Kieran Tierney was also regularly linked with an Arsenal exit, but he's now been named in their official Champions League squad, much to the surprise of many who believed he may not even be included in their final Premier League squad submission – with the deadline on September 14.
Tierney emerges as "top target" for Istanbul Basaksehir
Now, according to reports out of Spain, Tierney has emerged as a "top target" for Istanbul Basaksehir, with the Turkish window remaining open until the end of next week.
It is unclear what Arsenal's stance is on this, but if they were to entertain any Basaksehir bid for the Scotsman, they could have to replace him with another homegrown or locally trained player for their Champions League squad.
The £120,000-per-week defender spent last season on loan at Real Sociedad, and is unlikely to feature too often under Arteta this season, with his contract also set to expire in 2026 – giving Arsenal limited time to make a decent amount of money back off his £25 million transfer fee.