Reiss Nelson

Official: Reiss Nelson leaves Arsenal, contract terminated by mutual consent after eighteen years at the club

Arsenal announced on 27 August 2026 that Reiss Nelson's contract had been terminated by mutual consent with immediate effect. The 26-year-old academy graduate leaves as a free agent after 90 appearances, 8 goals and 9 assists, including that 97th-minute winner against Bournemouth in 2022/23. He was entering the final year of his deal after an unconvincing loan at Brentford. Arsenal spent the summer trying to sell him: West Ham discussed a permanent move at around £3m and Marseille had an offer turned down, but nothing was concluded. With no deal available, both parties opted for termination, which leaves Nelson free to pick his next club without a deadline — the English window shuts on 1 September, his does not.

Latest development

1. 3 September — Nelson has found a home at Feyenoord. The Rotterdam club announced his return on 2 September, on a one-year contract covering the 2026/27 season. The winger had already spent 2021/22 there on loan under Arne Slot, all the way to the Conference League final they lost to Roma. Arsenal receive nothing, because Nelson had been a free agent since the 27 August termination, which is why no destination club is attached to this file.

2. 27/08it is over, and without a transfer.

   Arsenal published a statement on arsenal.com on Thursday: Reiss Nelson's contract has been terminated by mutual consent with immediate effect, and the winger becomes a free agent. Fabrizio Romano had reported it a few hours before the club's announcement. The official account went with a simple "Thank you, Reiss".

   What is established: the termination, its date, that it was mutual, and that Arsenal receive no fee whatsoever. Nelson leaves after eighteen years at the club, 90 first-team appearances, 8 goals and 9 assists.

   Why this rather than a sale: the West Ham file, tracked here since 16 August, never cleared the final step. The Evening Standard writes that the £3m discussion dragged and that the player was not convinced about dropping a division. A week from the deadline, Arsenal preferred to clear a wage rather than chase three million. Nelson gains time: as a free agent he is no longer bound by 1 September and can take his weeks to choose, in England or abroad.

3. 25/08 (morning)the deal is described as done, but West Ham are holding back.

   Reporter James Hokery wrote on 24 August that the fee and personal terms are settled between Arsenal, West Ham and the player, with Livescore and Pain in the Arsenal following up. The sticking point is no longer financial: the Hammers are delaying the signing while they find out whether Harvey Elliott and Amario Cozier-Duberry become available.

   One nuance matters, and it is the one we go with. The BBC still describes the move as “relatively close” with an issue to resolve, not as concluded — markedly more cautious than the relays. Neither Ornstein, nor Romano, nor Sky write that an agreement exists. The entry therefore stays at TALKS ONGOING: we do not upgrade on the word of a single reporter, however well briefed.

4. 21/08 (morning)West Ham close in, on a permanent basis.

   The English press now describe the Hammers as nearing a deal, at around £3m and as a permanent transfer rather than a loan — the structure Arsenal wanted from the start (Yahoo Sports, Daily Cannon).

   What is established: talks are progressing and the structure is the one Arsenal wanted. What is not: no agreement has been announced, not by Sky, the BBC, Ornstein or Romano, and the player's green light has never been publicly confirmed. It stays at talks stage until a first-rank source writes that a deal exists.

5. 17/08a figure, and a U-turn.

   The file now has a number: the English press puts a permanent move at around £3m, which says plenty about the residual value of a player one year from the end of his contract with two unconvincing loans behind him. In between, West Ham pulled back — concerns over Nelson's injury record briefly froze the talks — before reviving them almost immediately, this time on the basis of a permanent transfer rather than a loan, which is what Arsenal had wanted all along.

   What is established: the two clubs are talking, the structure leans permanent, and £3m is circulating as the ballpark. What is not: neither Ornstein, Romano, Sky nor the BBC has signed off on an agreement, and James McNicholas noted on 12 August that the player had yet to give his approval. The row stays at talks — a deal called '90% done' by a supporters' site is not an agreement.

   New entry, opened on 16/08. It fills a gap in our tracker: the file had been live since 10 August without appearing in the table. What is established: Arsenal and West Ham are in talks (Sky Sports News, The Athletic), the structure is leaning towards a permanent transfer, and Arsenal turned down Marseille's offer (Foot Mercato, relayed by ESPN and Get French Football News). What is not: the fee, the player's approval — McNicholas says he has not signed off yet — and the timing. No agreement between clubs has been announced at this stage.

6. 21/08 (evening)the first top-tier source on this file.

   The BBC's Sami Mokbel put precise words to what aggregators had been repeating for ten days: "Reiss Nelson is in talks with West Ham. My understanding of that situation is that the deal between West Ham and Arsenal is quite close for around £3m, if it was a permanent deal." He adds the two outstanding items, and they are the same ones as at the start: what Nelson would earn at West Ham, and what is left to settle on his Arsenal contract.

   Two caveats. "Quite close" is not "done": no club-to-club agreement has been announced, so the file stays at talks. And the figure stings — around £3m for an academy graduate who will have spent four seasons out on loan. The score rises to 78: the substance has not changed, the quality of the source has.