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| Ainsley Maitland-Niles of Arsenal during the Premier League match between Arsenal and Watford at Emirates Stadium on November 07, 2021 in London, England. |
Arsenal could make as much as £9m for Ainsley Maitland-Niles should AS Roma go through with all their financial obligations for the England midfielder.
According to Corriere della Sera, Jose Mourinho’s side will pay a €750,000 loan fee (£630,000) loan fee for Maitland-Niles, with Roma having an option to sign the versatile Arsenal star for €10m (£7.37m) in the summer.
The 24-year-old Hale End academy graduate is expected to leave Arsenal in 2022. Maitland-Niles came close to departing last summer after Everton came in with a late offer. However, as reported by the Athletic, the Gunners rejected the transfer.
The midfielder, who can also play in defence and out on the wings, had been promised regular minutes by Mikel Arteta after almost joining the Toffees.
But, despite impressing in multiple matches this season, including a MOTM display against Watford, Maitland-Niles has still mainly been used as a bench player.
And now, it appears that the England international will be allowed to leave Arsenal for good this summer after Arteta seemingly broke his promise of giving Maitland-Niles regular minutes, with Roma now his most likely destination.
With Arteta once labelling Maitland-Niles as a ‘unique’ talent, Roma are signing someone who could be well-suited to the Italian game. And the Gunners have once again made a mess of another player sale.
It was only 18 months ago when the Gunners could have sold the midfielder for as much as £25m to Wolves as per the Athletic. And whilst Arsenal will likely make a tidy profit on the academy star, fans will no doubt question Arteta and Edu Gaspar’s approach to selling Roma-bound Maitland-Niles.
