Marseille react to Guendouzi to Villa rumours and deal blow to Arsenal

Robin Bairner

• 12 Jan 2023 16:11 GMT
• 3 min read

Aston Villa’s hopes of signing Matteo Guendouzi have been shot down by Ligue 1 club Marseille – and with it Arsenal’s dreams of landing a sizeable windfall on the France international have been dashed.

Guendouzi, who is valued at €26 million by FootballTransfers, has shone with OM since making a loan move to the club from Arsenal in the summer of 2021 following a fall out with Mikel Arteta at the Emirates.

The deal was subsequently made permanent for around €11m, while the midfielder maintained his excellent form, which in turn led to him representing France at World Cup 2022.

MORE: Transfer of the Season: Matteo Guendouzi proves Arsenal wrong

Meanwhile, Premier League clubs have once again turned their attentions towards the 23-year-old, whose competitive nature has been a hallmark of Marseille’s success over the last 18 months.

Aston Villa had been linked with a €30 million move for the player, with reports in France suggesting that OM are seeking between €10-20m more than that to allow the player to depart.

MORE: Incredible Guendouzi story shows the attitude that saw Arteta bin him

President Pablo Longoria has claimed there has not even been an approach for the player.

“I read the information in the press like you. There is no conversation between clubs, we have not received any offers. I do not know if it’s been discussed with the entourage of the player. It's just speculation,” he told the media as Ruslan Malinovskyi was presented to the media.

What’s Arsenal’s sell-on clause for Guendouzi?

Former Arsenal boss Unai Emery is a fan of Guendouzi, and should he successfully lure him to Villa Park, this would land his former club millions.

While it is unclear just what size of sell-on percentage the Gunners hold on the player, it could be up to 15%. A €40m move in that case would mean the Premier League leaders could recoup as much as €6m for the player they allowed to leave for a cut-price figure.