Former Gunner holds medical with Arsenal’s opening-day opponents

Former Arsenal, Chelsea, and Fulham winger Willian has held a medical ahead of a summer move to Nottingham Forest.

The BBC reported on Thursday that Willian was having a medical with Nottingham Forest ahead of a move to the club from Fulham.

The ex-Arsenal winger joined Fulham on a free transfer last summer, making 30 appearances for the club.

But despite being offered the chance to extend his stay with the Cottagers, it seems Willian is instead opting to join Nottingham Forest.

Other than the obvious links to Arsenal, this is also relevant to fans of Mikel Arteta’s side because the Gunners take on Forest in their opening game of the Premier League season.

It now looks like Willian could be lining up for the away side in that first fixture on August 12th

After seven years at Chelsea, Willian joined Arsenal in 2020, but the transfer didn’t go as planned.

Despite making 37 appearances for the Gunners, the winger only scored one goal and never really won over the supporters. He later admitted the transfer was probably a mistake.

The Brazilian moved back to his home country to join Corinthians, but things didn’t go much better over there, and he quickly returned to the Premier League.

Speaking earlier this year, after reigniting his career with Fulham, Willian told the media he’d never go back to play in Brazil.

After those two missteps, Willian finally found his feet back in England, scoring five goals and assisting six for Fulham in 2022/23.

Yet he’s on the move again already, looking to carry that same form up to Nottingham in the coming campaign.

READ MORE

After those two missteps, Willian finally found his feet back in England, scoring five goals and assisting six for Fulham in 2022/23.

Yet he’s on the move again already, looking to carry that same form up to Nottingham in the coming campaign.

For now, Henderson is in a holding pattern as United inch closer to a deal for Inter Milan goalkeeper Andre Onana. Figures at United and Erik ten Hag insist Henderson is an option but that is face-saving to protect his resale value.

Henderson, 26, Premier League-proven, an academy graduate and England international, is one of United’s most sellable assets and Forest’s Premier League survival ensures there is a willing and patient buyer.

Harry Maguire

United value Maguire at £50m, which clubs will balk at. Maguire may be United captain but he started 16 games last season – eight of them in the cups – and he is fifth in their central defensive pecking order. He also turned 30 this year.

Also read: Covid, kicking and a rejected loan – how United settled on Onana as their No.1

Maguire still has two years remaining on his contract and that buttresses his valuation, as does his starting status for England. Yet at club level, Maguire has been out of form for two years.

There is a small pool of Premier League clubs who could stump up the cash for Maguire but would they want him? Newcastle had the best defensive record last season with Sven Botman and Fabian Schar in front of Nick Pope while Aston Villa have just bought Pau Torres.

If an acceptable offer arrives for Maguire, United would have to recruit an upgrade. As a club source said, they would have to consider if it was all worth their while.

Eric Bailly

Marseille had an obligation to sign Bailly for €6m if they qualified for the Champions League and he made a certain number of appearances. You can guess who failed to hold up their end of the bargain.

Bailly will be back at United this month after a season where he missed seven games through suspension for hospitalising an opponent with a kung-fu kick. Few elite clubs would want such a haphazard and undependable defender.

United regard Bailly as a must-sell but even Saudi Arabian clubs might think twice about the injury-prone defender. Bailly, 29, is out of contract next year and will be released if there are no takers in this transfer window or the next.

Alex Telles

Another must-sell, Telles is at least still earning call-ups to the Brazil squad and has the cachet of starting in Sevilla’s latest Europa League final win. His valuation is well into eight figures despite entering the last year of his contract.

Al-Nassr have shown interest and there is no immediate rush for United to offload Telles as they have four other left-backs. They will not want to be short-changed for a player they could actually make a profit on, having bought Telles for £13.6m in 2020.

Brandon Williams

Williams has had a chastening two years. He was aboard Norwich City’s sinking ship during a season-long loan in 2021-22 and an injury last term sidelined him for five months. Williams played five minutes all season and that cameo was in December.

The 22-year-old has not started for United in more than two years, he is their fourth-choice left-back and Williams’s deal expires next year. His social media antics after the Champions League final are a red flag, too.

Scott McTominay

McTominay has not been listed by United in their ‘for sale’ section but, as a 26-year-old midfielder with Premier League pedigree, he could command an impressive fee if there is interest.

Newcastle have been linked with McTominay but bought Sandro Tonali from AC Milan and will be constrained by financial fair play rules. McTominay, like his fellow youth team teammate Henderson, is a £30m asset and there are few Premier League clubs with that cash available in need of a bustling midfielder.

West Ham will be when Declan Rice finally takes the Central and Piccadilly Lines to Arsenal. David Moyes is a fellow Scot who values tireless runners and West Ham offer European football. McTominay has to be under consideration, at the very least.

Donny van de Beek

In three years, Van de Beek has started in four meaningful Premier League games, he has sustained three significant injuries in the last two years, missed 47 games last season and is still on an individual training programme. That’s a tough sell, isn’t it?