How Much Will Arsenal Pay Manchester City For Gabriel Jesus?

Manchester City forward Gabriel Jesus is nearing a move to Arsenal following an agreement between the clubs over a transfer fee for the forward, as per a new report.

The Brazil international looks set to become the first major outgoing from the Etihad Stadium this summer, as reports suggest the Premier League champions and Arsenal have reached a verbal agreement over a deal for the 25-year-old.

Gabriel Jesus has long been rumoured with a move away from Manchester City this summer to fulfil his desire of regular first-team football ahead of the World Cup in Qatar later this year.

The Manchester City attacker, who is entering the final 12 months of his contract at the Etihad Stadium, recently missed out on Tite’s Brazil squad on the back of a downturn in club form and reduced playing time at City last season.

Since joining forces with Pep Guardiola in Manchester, Jesus has shown spells of brilliance but alongside those spells were frustrating periods without goals from the Sao Paulo star owing to a wide list of reasons.

Pep Guardiola often cashed in on the Brazilian's versatility by operating him across the frontline throughout his tenure in Manchester - as was the case when Jesus began the most recent campaign as a right-sided forward and was moved back down the middle at various points.

Despite often being a utility man instead of someone around whom the team was built, Jesus boasts an impressive tally of 58 goals and 32 assists in 159 Premier League outings since his arrival to the Etihad Stadium from Palmeiras in January 2017.

While he has been linked with a host of clubs across Europe since last summer - including Arsenal, Chelsea, Tottenham, Juventus and Inter - Fabrizio Romano has revealed Manchester City and Arsenal have come to a verbal agreement over a deal for Gabriel Jesus ahead of the new campaign.

According to the ever-reliable Italian journalist, a deal worth guaranteed fee of £45 million is in place after the most recent meeting between club officials.

The fee will likely delight the selling club as Manchester City have avoided the risk of losing Jesus on a free transfer when his existing deal runs out in 2023.

David Ornstein of The Athletic has since confirmed the fee of £45 million but mentioned that some elements of the deal still need to be finalised before a transfer is in place.

Jesus has history operating under Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta, who worked as Pep Guardiola’s assistant at Manchester City between 2016 and 2019.

The four-time Premier League winner was widely believed to be Arsenal's number one attacking target this summer as the Gunners seek to bolster their frontline and replace the outgoing Alexandre Lacazette.

Manchester City appear to be conducting great business in terms of fresh acquisitions and potential outgoings this summer, having already signed Erling Haaland and Julian Alvarez.

The English champions are also understood to have reached an agreement to sign Leeds United midfielder Kalvin Phillips for £42 million - with possible add-ons reaching £3 million - in the wake of club captain Fernandinho’s departure this summer. 

The sums involved in the aforementioned deals could offset each other on Manchester City’s books - bringing their transfer business this week to an end with roughly a net zero spend.

Brighton left-back Marc Cucurella is next up for the Etihad outfit and there was some interesting activity observed on the Spaniard's Twitter and Instagram accounts late on Friday evening - as the 23-year-old engaged with City Xtra's tweets over a deal in place between Manchester City and Kalvin Phillips and a subsequent swoop for the Brighton defender himself.