'No chance': Sky journalist says Arsenal would now have to pay £200m to sign striker target
Today at 12:15 PM
Arsenal are finding it difficult to land their top transfer targets at the moment.
Arsenal made a bid for Dusan Vlahovic earlier this week, but that was promptly rejected, while Benjamin Sesko is unattainable this month too.
Alexander Isak is Mikel Arteta’s dream target, but, once again, that deal looks very unlikely this month.
Indeed, according to Pete Graves, speaking on the Sky Sports Transfer Talk Podcast, there's no chance of Isak going to Arsenal during the January transfer window, with the journalist claiming that it would take an offer of £200m to get Newcastle to even speak about selling Isak.
Alexander Isak now valued at £200m
Graves shared his verdict on Isak potentially heading to Arsenal.
The journalist says there's no chance of this deal happening, claiming that it would take a £200m bid to land the striker now.
"The names that Dharmesh has mentioned, I mean, Gyokeres has been mentioned, Osimhen, Sesko, as we said there, Marcus Rashford, even my beloved Alexander Isak has been mentioned.
"But let me qualify, the chances of them signing him, there’s more chance of my dry January extending to February.
"So you’re telling me there’s a chance?" Graves' co-host asked.
"No, there’s no chance. There’s no chance, 200 million quid if they want him to start, to get us around the table."
Alexander Isak could be the most valuable player ever
Arsenal would potentially need to pay £200m to land Isak, and that would make the striker the most valuable player in football history.
Indeed, while we have seen some massive signings over the years, we're yet to see that £200m barrier broken.
| Most expensive signings of all-time | Selling club | Buying club | Fee |
| Neymar | Barcelona | PSG | £198m |
| Kylian Mbappe | Monaco | PSG | £168m |
| Philippe Coutinho | Liverpool | Barcelona | £142m |
| Ousmane Dembele | Borussia Dortmund | Barcelona | £136m |
| Moises Caicedo | Brighton | Chelsea | £115m |
| Joao Felix | Benfica | Atletico Madrid | £113m |
| Antoine Griezmann | Atletico Madrid | Barcelona | £108m |
| Enzo Fernandez | Benfica | Chelsea | £105m |
| Declan Rice | West Ham | Arsenal | £105m |
| Jack Grealish | Aston Villa | Man City | £100m |
Neymar is currently the most expensive player after his £198m move from Barcelona to PSG.
Meanwhile, PSG were also responsible for the second-biggest signing of all time when they signed Kylian Mbappe from Monaco.
Arsenal do make the top 10 here with their £105m signing of Declan Rice, but, they would have to almost double that transfer record to sign Isak.
In this era of strict Profit and Sustainability rules, Arsenal aren't likely to splash £200m on a player in the middle of the January transfer window, so it's safe to say that Isak will be staying at St James' Park for a little while longer.
