Emile Smith Rowe made 'priority' as Arsenal star closes in on transfer exit

Fulham have made landing Emile Smith Rowe a summer priority and are ready to lodge an early bid for the Arsenal star.

Smith Rowe has fallen down the pecking order at the Emirates and Cottagers boss Marco Silva has spots in his squad that need filling. Arsenal are open to listening to offers for several players as they look to invest in their own playing group.

Smith Rowe, as well as the likes of Aaron Ramsdale and Eddie Nketiah, are likely to court interest as they seek extra minutes. Fulham believe the playmaker can help aid their ambitions after securing successive mid-table finishes since promotion back to the top-flight, reports the Telegraph.

The 23-year-old Arsenal academy graduate only had three Premier League starts last term, making 10 more appearances from the bench. He also suffered knee and ankle injuries during the campaign, which hampered his progress.

Any possible sale would represent pure profit for Arsenal from a profit-and-sustainability point of view. Smith Rowe has two seasons left on his contract, which was signed in 2021, with Aston Villa among those previously keen on the former England international.

Mikel Arteta, who has been unable to find a regular place for the versatile midfielder, said at one point last season: “I love him as a player, he is a joy to watch.

“How he moves, changes direction and how physical he was without the ball. He went into duels and won a lot of them and was thinking with that killer instinct to play forward and make things happen. When Emile is in that moment, it’s very difficult to stop him."

Fulham's desire to land Smith Rowe comes with Willian weighing up Bosman offers from Saudi Arabia, while Bobby De Cordova-Reid is also out of contract but has been given an offer to stay at Craven Cottage.

The west London outfit have continued to invest since their promotion. 12 months ago Fulham landed the likes of Alex Iwobi, Calvin Bassey and Timothy Castagne. Joao Palhinha was signed two years ago but was on Bayern Munich's radar last summer and the Portuguese star is set to be the subject of interest once again.