Arsenal star ‘set to become Fulham record transfer’

Fulham are continuing negotiations to sign Arsenal winger Emile Smith Rowe for a club-record fee, according to a report.

The Cottagers had a £30 million bid for the 23-year-old rejected last week and have now offered £35m with add-ons, the Guardian has said.

Should they complete the deal, that figure would smash the £27m Fulham paid for Ivory Coast midfielder Jean Michael Seri in 2018.

🚨⚪️⚫️ Fulham have sent new bid to Arsenal for Emile Smith-Rowe.

Proposal worth up to £35m as reported by @David_Ornstein, talks ongoing between the two clubs with player open to the move.

Fulham, ahead of Crystal Palace now and pushing to get it done. pic.twitter.com/pFL9K95eF7

— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) July 25, 2024

Emile Smith Rowe transfer

Smith Rowe was left out of Arsenal’s 1-1 draw with Bournemouth in California on Thursday, which the Gunners won 5-4 on penalties to launch their pre-season campaign.

Manager Mikel Arteta later appeared to confirm negotiations with Fulham are ongoing over the former England international.

“There are things happening in the background at the moment,” said Arteta. “We decided the best thing to do was to keep him away from the game today.”

Smith Rowe Arsenal stats

Croydon-born Smith Rowe joined Arsenal’s academy as a 10-year-old and was part of England’s Under-17 World Cup-winning squad in 2017.

Having made his first-team debut in September 2018, the playmaker spent time on loan with RB Leipzig in 2019 and Huddersfield Town in 2020.

Best day of my life!❤️ pic.twitter.com/kAoOgoo9QK

— Emile Smith Rowe (@emilesmithrowe) September 26, 2021

His breakthrough season came when he scored 10 goals in 33 Premier League appearances in 2021/22, winning the last of his three England senior caps in 2022.

Smith Rowe started England’s Euro Under-21 final against Spain as the Three Lions won the tournament for the first time since 1984 in 2023.

An injury-plagued subsequent season had hampered his progress, followed by more misfortune when Smith Rowe sustained a knee injury on his first Premier League start of 2023/24 which kept him out for six weeks from last October.

He made only three starts across the season, finding himself largely restricted to brief substitute appearances.