Newcastle United have been dealt a setback in plans to bring Rob Holding to St. James’ Park as Arsenal are undecided on their defensive structure, according to Sky Sports’ Keith Downie.
The Magpies have been targeting a loan deal to lure Holding to the North East this summer as head coach Steve Bruce strives to strengthen the squad with players boasting proven Premier League experience, leading to successful swoops for Callum Wilson and his former AFC Bournemouth teammate Ryan Fraser.
A deal for Holding had been ‘close’ for some time but is now being forced onto the backburner as Arsenal consider whether or not Mikel Arteta will need a replacement for the 24-year-old.
Arsenal have already brought Gabriel Magalhaes to the Premier League this summer and welcomed William Saliba into their plans following a season back on loan with Saint-Etienne, though could also part with Greece international Sokratis Papastathopoulos amid confirmed interest from SSC Napoli.
Gabriel’s arrival had been seen as a block to Holding’s route into the Gunners first-team going forward, while opening the £25,000-per-week defender’s mind to a potential loan move to Tyneside.
Newcastle are continuing to stay on Holding’s case all the while Arsenal decide on their defensive structure for the new Premier League season, but now face potentially tackling the season-opener away to West Ham United without the former Bolton man in the squad.
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Bruce can bide his time amid the setback in our plans to bring Holding to St. James’ Park, for now at least, as the Arsenal centre-half is clearly the defensive option the boss is after and once this final hurdle is cleared it should be clean sailing to secure the 24-year-old’s signature.
And while we cannot wait forever, the extended pause in Holding’s arrival could also aid the club’s rumoured efforts to free space in the squad for the former U21 international.
It has been claimed that the club’s hierarchy are actively looking for potential buyers for Fabian Schar and Florian Lejeune in order to afford the loan deal for Holding, with both players facing uncertainty over their futures with Schar out of contract next summer and Lejeune seemingly out of favour.
If we are unable to move either of Schar or Lejeune on, we may not be able to afford to sign Holding on loan after all, and the extended wait Arsenal have dealt us with will ultimately have saved Bruce and the board from having stretched the budget too thin.