With all the drama of the European Super League proposals in recent days, it’s easy to forget this is usually a time of the year when clubs are working hard behind the scenes as they try to secure their summer transfer targets.
The Premier League has yet to confirm when the summer transfer window will open but a FIFA website currently lists the dates for the men's transfer window in England as June 9.
Whatever the exact date, time is certainly ticking for clubs as they start to enter into discussions with agents and clubs.
In the case of Arsenal, with the Gunners currently sitting in ninth place and in serious risk of missing out on Europe entirely next season, fans will be hoping to see some high profile – or at least talented – acquisitions in the coming months.
Arsenal legend names his four targets
Michael Thomas wrote his name in Gunners folklore when he scored the crucial goal which helped land the old English First Division crown in 1989.
But the former midfielder admits Arsenal will not be close to competing for the title any time soon unless they back Mikel Arteta ‘massively’ in the transfer market.
The 53-year-old believes the North London club are at least four signings away from even challenging for the top four next season and has named a quartet he would like to see arrive.
“The club need to back him in the market massively for Arsenal to catch up with the clubs ahead,” Thomas told the Just Arsenal website.
“To get us back to challenging for the top four again, Arteta needs 100 per cent to bring in a minimum of four players this summer. [At] LB, RB, CM, LW.
“My picks would be [Ryan] Bertrand, [Achraf] Hakimi, [Yves] Bissouma and [Wilfried] Zaha but there are plenty of players of quality out there.
“I am sure the club has done their homework on this and will be doing their best to improve the squad again in the summer.”
Arsenal target’s club threatens to raise the price for Super League clubs
Whilst the European Super League fiasco has certainly left the likes of Arsenal with egg on their faces, they may take some comfort from the possibility that transfer targets could at least be a little cheaper in the coming months.
One player Arsenal are reportedly keen on this summer is Sassuolo’s defensive midfielder Manuel Locatelli, who is also said to be wanted by the likes of Manchester City and Juventus.
Sassuolo’s CEO Giovanni Carnevali claims the club have already turned down bids in excess of £21 million for the 23-year-old and threatened to ‘take our revenge’ on any of the clubs who were part of the proposed European Super League.
Speaking before the plans were all-but scrapped today, Carnevali told Gazzetta dello Sport: “If a request [for one of our players] comes from a Super League club, the price tag increases.”
He then went on to tell RAI: "There is no agreement between the club and Juve for Locatelli. If the Super League is done (agreed to take place), the big clubs will recover a lot of money. And we intend to take our revenge.”
Gunners told likely cost of Bellerin replacement
With Hector Bellerin no longer an automatic starter for Arsenal and a switch to Paris Saint-Germain potentially on the cards, talk of a move for Emerson has increased.
The Gunners have reportedly been long-time admirers of the Brazilian and Spanish publication Estadio Deportivo have explained why the 22-year-old would cost in the region of £21 million to £26 million.
Emerson is co-owned by both Barcelona and Real Betis but has spent all of his time since moving to Spain in January 2019 with Manuel Pellegrini’s side.
Barca are reportedly open to selling Emerson but Estadio Deportivo claim the La Liga giants would need to pay almost £8 million to own all of the player’s rights, meaning a sale of £21 million to £26 million would be needed to make the deal profitable for Barcelona.