Should Arsenal sign Dani Ceballos on a permanent deal for £22m?

Emmet Gates

• Updated: 19 May 2021 15:43 BST
• 2 min read

Arsenal can reportedly seal the permanent transfer of midfielder Dani Ceballos from Real Madrid for just £22 million at the end of the season.

Sky Sports, citing sources in Spain, claim the north London outfit can make the Spaniard’s two-year loan deal into a permanent move at the end of the season.

Ceballos joined The Gunners in the summer of 2019 after struggling for game time in the Spanish capital.

The 24-year-old settled into life in the Premier League with aplomb in the early months of the 2019-20 season, earning praise for his performances.

However this season the story has been a little different, as he has lost his place in the starting XI due to the partnership of Granit Xhaka and Thomas Partey.

Spanish publication La Razon are now reporting that Madrid want a fee in the region of £22 million for Ceballos.

The Spanish giants are desperate to make summer sales in order to revamp their squad for next season, following what has been a difficult campaign for Zinedine Zidane’s men. Furthermore, the pandemic has had a detrimental effect on club revenue.

But should Arsenal, who have money issues of their own, shell out £22m for Ceballos?

Ceballos has been played a little further back under Mikel Arteta than with previous manager Unai Emery.

This has resulted in the midfielder getting forward less, and thus not posting impressive statistics in the goals and assists department.

Ceballos posts an average pass completion rate of 87% this season. Which, given his position as the player who dictates play when he’s on the pitch, is a fairly impressive statistic.

But yet there is a feeling around Arsenal that Ceballos is under performing. He’s only started 10 league games this season, and has routinely come off the bench for one of Xhaka or Partey.

The jury remains to be seen as to whether Arsenal can justify splashing £22 million on Ceballos, considering their financial woes.

Should Madrid lower their asking price, then Arsenal would highly likely seal a deal for the Spaniard. However as things currently stand, Ceballos’ future at the club is unknown.