Arsenal want €70m for star worth less than €15m

Cameron Smith

6 Oct 2023 10:34 BST
3 min read

West Ham United are reportedly interested in signing Arsenal star Emile Smith Rowe amid his recent struggles at the Emirates Stadium.

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The Hammers are said to be keen on prising the Englishman away from north London following his limited game time over the past 12 months.

Smith Rowe, 23, has mustered just 330 minutes of action since the start of the 2022-23 season and the summer addition of Kai Havertz has provided yet more competition in the Gunners’ midfield.

As a result, he has been heavily linked with an exit from the club. Chelsea were linked with a move this summer, although that never materialised, while West Ham have now taken an interest, according to TEAMTalk.

Smith Rowe has reportedly been putting in extra work at Arsenal’s Colney training ground in a bid to impress Mikel Arteta, but a move away in January is on the cards if his playing time does not improve.

TEAMTalk have reported that Arsenal would like to hold out for €70 million (£60m) for Smith Rowe as they view him as a similar level talent to Mason Mount, who joined Manchester United for €64.2m this summer.

The key difference between Mount and Smith Rowe is that the former only had one year left on his Chelsea contract when he left the Blues. As for Smith Rowe, he still has three years to run on his current Arsenal deal.

Therefore, the Gunners believe he is worth around €70m.

What is Emile Smith Rowe worth?

Football Transfers’ in-house Estimated Transfer Value (ETV) algorithm does not agree with Arsenal’s verdict. Smith Rowe’s ETV stands at a lowly €13.4m having dropped incrementally each month since October 2022.

That decrease in value has coincided with his lack of game time at Arsenal, with Arteta’s decision to drop the Englishman directly leading to a fall in value.

Smith Rowe’s peak came in August 2022; his ETV was €39.8m at that time, which is still a long way off Arsenal’s reported asking price.