Fulham are unwilling to meet Arsenal’s £11 million valuation of Bernd Leno as the two enter negotiations over the goalkeeper’s future.
The newly-promoted Premier League side have shown interest in the German shot-stopper, set to be offloaded following the arrival of Matt Turner from New England Revolution.
Both Leno and Fulham are thought to have already come to a verbal agreement over a transfer, but the Cottagers are yet to strike a deal with the Gunners.
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With the two clubs coming into contact for the first time, the Gunners are looking for an offer of £11 million for the Germany international.
According to Sky Sports Germany journalist Florian Plettenburg, however, the West Londoners believe Arsenal’s asking price for the ex-Bayer Leverkusen man is too high.
The initial disagreement places pressure on the deal as the two London clubs come to a stand-off.
Leno remains keen on the idea of joining Fulham and talks between both teams are still ongoing, as per the same source.
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The news comes after the goalkeeper was one of a select few players made unavailable for Arsenal’s 5-3 win away to FC Nürnberg.
Leno’s absence fuelled talk of an imminent move to Fulham after the initial ‘verbal agreement’, protecting the keeper against the prospect of injury scuppering a switch.
The player’s agent, Joannis Koukoutrigas, also confirmed that the Cottagers were pushing for the deal, among interest from other clubs.
Koukoutrigas went on to add that he’s remaining calm before rather controversially stating that his client, Leno, is the clear number one at the club.
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“For me, he is the number one at Arsenal, therefore we are relaxed”: Koukoutrigas stated.
“He is a German national goalkeeper, has always performed well at Arsenal and is an absolute team player.
"For me personally, Bernd is also the clear number 1 at Arsenal. With all due respect to the competitors."
Signed as the successor to Petr Čech for £22 million, Leno made 125 appearances across all competitions since joining from the Bundesliga in 2018.
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Leno has been called into action just eight times over the past season, however, with Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta siding with Aaron Ramsdale since joining from Sheffield United last summer.
Featured Image Credit: Alamy ImagesTopics: Bernd Leno, Fulham, Arsenal