Ethan Nwaneri

Milan's loan-with-option rejected: Arsenal want a permanent sale for Nwaneri

Ethan Nwaneri, 19, has been cleared to leave. After a failed loan at Marseille in the second half of 2025/26 and the arrival of Bruno Guimarães crowding the midfield further, RB Leipzig have taken the initiative: talks with Arsenal are described as advanced, at around €35-40m, with a buy-back clause under discussion so the club keeps a hold on a Hale End graduate. Leipzig are looking for a successor to Yan Diomandé, sold to Real Madrid. AC Milan saw their €40m loan-with-option turned down and would in any case need to sell Rafael Leão to fund the move; Borussia Dortmund remain interested.

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**UPDATE 17/08 — correction: Milan's offer was an option, and it was turned down.** We wrote yesterday that AC Milan had formalised a loan with an *obligation* to buy at €40m. Gazzetta dello Sport and Matteo Moretto in fact describe a loan with an **option** to buy at the same figure — not a cosmetic difference, since an option guarantees Arsenal nothing — and that proposal was **rejected**, reportedly without even reaching the club's decision-makers. SempreMilan adds that Milan are pressing on despite the refusal, but Arsenal want a permanent sale: a loan-with-option is not a structure that appeals right now, even if the closing days of the window could change that. RB Leipzig continue to track him. **UPDATE 16/08 (evening) — Arsenal left him out in Cardiff, and the file flips.** Nwaneri was not included in the Community Shield squad against Manchester City, alongside Gabriel Martinelli and Gabriel Jesus. Mikel Arteta pointed to the cap on registered players, saying he was raising it with the Premier League — but he also opened the door himself on this case: the player needs regular football to keep progressing, and another season away from Arsenal is on the table. On the same day, Fabrizio Romano wrote that an exit is likely in the coming weeks. That is the opposite of the BBC's 14 August reading, which had him more likely to stay, and the entry moves up accordingly. What is established: two formal offers — AC Milan, a loan with a €40m obligation to buy; Galatasaray, a €5m loan with an appearance-triggered obligation —, a valuation around €35-40m, and Borussia Dortmund, RB Leipzig and Fulham joining the interested parties. What is not: nothing has been accepted, no destination is settled, and Arsenal are still weighing a loan against a sale with a buy-back clause. **UPDATE 16/08 — the Turkish structure takes shape, without Arsenal deciding anything.** Galatasaray have built a package covering both players: around €40m for Martinelli and €5m for a loan of Nwaneri, with an obligation to buy triggered by an appearance count (Türkiye Today, Sport Witness, Sports Mole). AC Milan, meanwhile, are offering a loan with a €40m obligation to buy (CaughtOffside, 14/08). What is established: two clubs have made a formal approach, Arsenal are willing to listen and value the player at around €35-40m. What is not: any decision at all. The BBC wrote on 14 August that Nwaneri was now more likely to stay, and nothing since has contradicted that reading. The file stays at "in talks". **UPDATE 17 Aug.** Fabrizio Romano maintains that Nwaneri's Arsenal spell is nearing its end and that an exit should happen before the window shuts — without naming a destination or a structure. Three more clubs are now listed as monitoring: Everton, Fulham and RB Leipzig, on top of Milan and Dortmund. None has tabled anything. The asking price is unchanged: at least €35m for a permanent sale, with AC Milan still stuck on the loan-plus-€40m-option structure Arsenal rejected. **Update 18/08 — a rejected bid our tracking was missing.** Borussia Dortmund tabled a straight €35m offer in early August, turned down by Arsenal; the story, originally German, resurfaced today via Daily Cannon and OneFootball. It clarifies the asking price: the €35m Arsenal are quoting is a negotiating floor, not a tariff, since the club rejected exactly that figure. In parallel, RB Leipzig are now presented as the club furthest along on a permanent deal. The mooted buy-back clause is unchanged, between €55m and €60m. None of this is an agreement: no destination is settled, and the status does not move.