Mason Greenwood on notice as Arsenal launch surprise Getafe bid

Stuart Telford

• 11 Jan 2024 10:43 GMT
• 3 min read

Arsenal have made a surprise bid for Borja Mayoral, who has been starring up front alongside Mason Greenwood for Getafe this season.

The Gunners are in the market for a goalscoring No.9 having fallen five points behind Premier League leaders Liverpool in recent weeks, with the lack of a cutting edge considered part of the reason why.

Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard have been Arsenal's most potent attacking assets this season, but both are midfielders by trade.

Victor Osimhen and Ivan Toney were among Mikel Arteta's top targets, but their clubs - Napoli and Brentford respectively - are understood to be holding out for at least €100 million for their star players.

And the Gunners have now shifted their focus.

Getafe holding out

"SunSport understands that it the Gunners have tabled a bid worth £22 million for Mayoral," report Ciaran Wiseman and Steve Brenner for the aforementioned. "Getafe have knocked back their initial offer as they hold out for closer to £39m for their star striker."

Real Madrid academy graduate Mayoral has his 12 goals in 19 La Liga games this season, with only Jude Bellingham ahead of him in the domestic goalscoring charts.

He has forged a quick understanding with Manchester United outcast Greenwood, with Greenwood teeing up two of Mayoral's La Liga goals and the Spaniard returning the favour once.

Mayoral is valued at €18.6 million by FootballTransfers' in-house algorithm but had a previous high of €36.6m when he was on loan at Roma from Real in 2022, and he is still only 26 years of age.

Greenwood has also been attracting interest with Barcelona reportedly keen on the former England forward, whom few, if any, English clubs are likely to take a gamble on after his recent legal troubles.

Mayoral would become the second Spaniard in the squad under compatriot Arteta, with David Raya having been signed from Brentford, initially on loan, at the start of the season.