Arsenal Transfer Rumors 2018: Gunners Still Waiting for West Brom to Lower Asking Price for Jonny Evans
Jonny Evans' move to Arsenal seems to have hit a snag days before the transfer deadline.
According to the Mirror, the Gunners are still interested in signing Evans, but they have refused to match West Bromwich Albion's £20-million valuation of the Northern Irish defender because they think they can get the Baggies to lower the asking price.
Things should get pretty interesting in the next couple of days because previous reports have indicated that there's a special clause in Evans' contract that allows him to leave for three million pounds if West Brom are relegated from the Premier League.
Get Our Latest News for FREE
As of the moment, West Brom are in the relegation zone and they still have to face five of the Premier League's "big six" in their final 14 matches. Leicester City and Burnley aren't lightweights either, so the Baggies are going to have their hands full in the coming weeks as they try to stave off relegation.
They are in a bind right now, and they will have to decide if they are willing to risk losing Evans for three million pounds in the summer.
Meanwhile, during a recent appearance on "The Transfer Window" podcast, pundit Ian McGarry said Evans actually prefers to join Manchester City, but with Aymeric Laporte likely heading to the Etihad Stadium in the coming days, Evans had to reconsider his options.
"At 29 and as captain of Northern Ireland, this is a guy who wants to play and isn't going to be happy to sit on the bench. Therefore Arsenal's interest in him has taken a new turn," McGarry said, via the Daily Star.
"Arsenal know they can get him relatively cheaply for the quality of player he is. It's all down to Evans now whether he wants to move south — I understand his preference is to stay in the north west — or play football and move to London," he added.
