Arsenal a ‘succulent destination’ for £87m ‘Mexican Haaland’ also being ‘watched’ by Chelsea, Spurs
Real Madrid, Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham are all interested in signing Feyenoord striker Santiago Gimenez, according to reports.
Gimenez had a superb 2022/23 campaign, scoring 15 goals in 32 appearances to help Feyenoord win the Eredivisie title.
His fine form has carried into the new season and he already has 13 league goals in only ten appearances. He also scored a brace in his only Champions League appearance, against Lazio.
The 22-year-old was born in Buenos Aires but represents the Mexican national team. In 22 caps, he has scored four times.
Gimenez’s most recent goal for his country came off the bench in the 88th minute of the Gold Cup final against Panama, the only goal of the game.
It is no surprise to see a lot of clubs linked with the young striker, who is attracting interest from north London pair Tottenham and Arsenal.
90min recently said Feyenoord would want an Eredivisie record sale of £87million with the Gunners, Spurs, Real Madrid and Inter Milan all keen.
And now Spanish outlet Nacional says Chelsea are also ‘watching’ and are prepared to ‘fight’ for Gimenez’s signature.
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Unsurprisingly, Gimenez has been compared to Manchester City striker Erling Haaland and the report even refers to him as ‘the Haaland Made in Mexico’.
In ten Premier League matches this season, the Norwegian international has scored 11 goals, two of which came from the penalty spot.
One of Gimenez’s 13 league goals in 23/24 was from the spot and he averages 1.36 non-penalty goals a game in comparison to Haaland’s 0.91.
Furthermore, the Mexican is outscoring the City star with a lower xG (10.2 and 8.9), although his non-penalty xG is slightly higher (8.1 and 7.8).
Haaland is a benchmark, so it is no surprise to see these comparisons and the Nacional report says Gimenez will be more expensive than the Nordic robot, who City paid a £51m transfer fee for.
The Feyenoord striker views Arsenal and Real Madrid as ‘two very succulent destinations’, it is added.
There is space for Gimenez at the Bernabeu with Joselu the only out-and-out striker available to Carlo Ancelotti.
Arsenal, meanwhile, have Gabriel Jesus and Eddie Nketiah in that position and the report says Gimenez would be ‘compatible’ with the former, meaning they could form a strong strike force together, leaving Nketiah on the bench.
A move to Madrid could depend on what happens with Kylian Mbappe. If the Paris Saint-Germain striker ‘leaves Florentino Perez with a slap in the face again’, Gimenez could be the perfect alternative.
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