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Martin Keown says he would be ‘surprised’ if Arsenal turned to Marcus Rashford as a potential signing for the left wing this summer.
It has been a slow and steady start to the transfer window for the Gunners on the back of the club’s Premier League title triumph, with free agent Illan Meslier still the only new face in the building.
The English champions did, though, sign Piero Hincapie on a permanent basis last month, paying around £35million for the defender following an initial loan deal last season.
Widespread reports indicated that Morgan Rogers had been identified as Arsenal’s number one target after an outstanding campaign with Aston Villa, in which he racked up ten goals and six assists in the league.
The frustrating setback has forced Arsenal bosses to rethink their plans to strengthen in attack before the transfer deadline. However, a £34m deal has reportedly been struck for Club Brugge winger Christos Tzolis.
Manchester United outcast Rashford continues to be tentatively linked as a player who could come in and fill the void left by Leandro Trossard, who departed the Emirates to join Besiktas last week.
But when asked if Rashford could be the player Arteta needs on the left wing, ex-Arsenal defender Keown told talkSPORT: ‘I don’t see that, I’d be surprised if that happened.
‘By the way, I thought actually that Rashford did well for Aston Villa. They didn’t have the money to buy these players so they had to pay them big wages. That’s a problem for Villa having to balance the books.
‘I just think maybe he [Rashford] went off the rails, lots of talk behind the scenes about what may have been issues. I think he’s back on track now.
‘It’s an interesting one when he goes back into Manchester United with Michael Carrick. Does he welcome him back in?
‘This talk of being in the city again. Is it a problem, is it a distraction? But I think he’s back on keel and you want to see these players at their best.
‘It’s a short career so get out there and play. Hopefully those problems are now behind him.’
Keown ‘wouldn’t put it past’ Arsenal signing a central midfielder and a left winger before the transfer deadline, as well as a centre-forward to compete with Viktor Gyokeres and Kai Havertz.
‘I think that’s a lot of money [for Rogers], I think that’s too much money and maybe there’s a better route to go,’ he added.
‘Maybe there’s a player somewhere who you can unearth, someone not quite so well known. Where are those players?
‘It looks like a left winger will be coming in and Morgan Rogers could have done that, but he doesn’t maybe have the same threats as a more typical winger that you’d see Mikel Arteta go after.
‘I think they need another midfield player, someone who can control things. Then, I think they need a left winger.
‘Maybe they’re going into the transfer market for a striker. I wouldn’t put it past them.’
Keown suggested Rogers’ switch was purely motivated by money, with the England midfielder opting leaving a club who had qualified for the Champions League to join a team that finished tenth.
‘He must have been too expensive [for Arsenal],’ Keown continued.
‘My take on it is Unai Emery wouldn’t have wanted him to go to Arsenal.
‘If you ask the player, wholeheartedly, does he want to join the current champions or does he want to go to Chelsea? But that’s not going to be allowed to happen because this is a money move.
‘It’s important to Aston Villa so that they can stay inside the regulations. I think they’ve suffered massively, Aston Villa, and Newcastle. It’s a real shame and Villa were building something really special.
‘Morgan Rogers, let’s talk about him as an incredible talent. Villa went and got him from Manchester City when nobody else was really interested for peanuts.’
Keown has no doubts about Rogers’ ‘talent’ and believes the midfielder will be a ‘big loss’ at Villa Park.
‘I think he’s a real talent, he showed that in the World Cup, and he’s going to be a big loss to Aston Villa. Youri Tielemans also gone, that engine room… and all to balance the books,’ he went on.
‘The money is crazy. It’s market force, it’s what people pay. Of course it’s too much money but it’s the only way that Chelsea can get him to the football club.
‘Money talks in this situation for Villa and that is a hell of a lot of money.’
It’s understood Rogers underwent a medical with Chelsea on Monday having returned from the United States with the rest of England’s World Cup squad a day earlier.
The eye-watering sum that Chelsea have agreed to pay for Rogers surpasses the £107m fee spent on Argentina central midfielder Enzo Fernandez three years ago.
Rogers has agreed to a six-year contract at Stamford Bridge, tying him to the club until 2032.
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