Arsenal Have 'Rejected' The Opportunity To Sign Ajax’s Hakim Ziyech For Only £30m

Arsenal have reportedly turned down an unbelievable chance to sign the highly rated Hakim Ziyech from Ajax for only £30m.

The Ajax star, 26, had a superb campaign with the Dutch champions and is expected to leave the club in the summer.

Speaking to Arsenal blog Arseblog, Gunners source David Ornstein has said that the Premier League side have rejected a move for the Moroccan attacking midfielder.

"Arsenal have analysed him and he's not a player that they will be pursuing as far as I know," he said.

"I think he would welcome the move [to Arsenal]. Ajax would probably sell for around £30m, but that's not on Arsenal's agenda."

According to Ornstein, Southampton midfielder Mario Lemina and Barcelona winger Malcom have also been linked with the club, but the most likely deal to be pushed through is for Saint-Étienne defender William Saliba.

He explained: "I've seen Malcom linked. I don't know about the current links but certainly that was a transfer they had pursued in the past as we know and that was a Sanllehi-led transfer, so it wouldn't be a great shock if they went back down that route.

"In terms of a central midfielder, lots of names linked and Lemina most recently, that seems to be one being driven more by the player and his camp.

"I don't know about it so I can't add to them [reports]. Is anything imminent? Other than potentially Saliba? No."

Arsenal's lack of transfer activity and the arrival of big signings like Ziyech has frustrated Gunners supporters.

The club have been linked with Crystal Palace star Wilfried Zaha as Unai Emery wants him to be his marquee signing.

But the Gunners have had a £40m bid rejected and Ornstein says that a cash-plus-player deal doesn't interest the Eagles either.

Ornstein said: "£40m offer was thrown out by Crystal Palace immediately.

"£40m plus reports of Carl Jenkinson, Mohamed Elneny -- who Crystal Palace turned down last summer -- [and] [Calum] Chambers, Crystal Palace are not interested in any of these players."

Palace will demand at least £80m for Zaha, whose contract with the club ends in 2023.

Should Arsenal have signed Ziyech?

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Featured Image Credit: PA

Topics: Football News, Hakim Ziyech, gunners, Football, Eredivisie, Premier League, Arsenal

Adnan Riaz

Adnan Riaz is a journalist for SPORTbible. He studied for a B.A. in History at the University of York and followed it up with an M.A. in Multimedia Journalism at MMU. Before he started writing about sports, he spent over four years in the gaming press. He has worked for several publications, including Hardcore Gamer, LADbible and the Manchester Evening News. Follow him on Twitter to find out what he is working on next. Got a story tip for Adnan? Email him: [email protected]

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