Bournemouth are close to striking a £10m+ deal for Wolverhampton Wanderers striker Benik Afobe (via Sky Sports), a player who only recently made the switch from Arsenal.
While this is purely speculation, this deal could potentially benefit Arsenal, as there may have been a number of clauses inserted into his contract when we sold him to Wolves.
Cherries manager Eddie Howe confirmed that a deal was close after his side’s 2-1 FA Cup win over Birmingham, but stressed that there were still hurdles.
BREAKING: Eddie Howe confirms in post match press that a deal to sign Benik Afobe has been agreed.
— AFC Bournemouth (@afcbournemouth) January 9, 2016
If the deal does go ahead as expected though, then Arsenal could net a tidy bit of profit. If rumours are to be believed, Arsene Wenger inserted a couple of clauses into the £2m deal that saw Afobe join Wolves (via the BBC). One of these was suspected to be a buyback clause – something that won’t benefit us once he moves to Bournemouth – but the other we believe to be a sell on clause.
Wenger is extremely shrewd when it comes to transfer dealings, and doesn’t like to let his players go without getting assurances. For example, when Cesc Fabregas moved to Barcelona, not only did Wenger insert a first-refusal clause, but a substantial sell on clause too. Consequently, when the Spaniard made the move to Chelsea, we received £5.6m from the deal (via the Daily Mail).
With the incredibly low £2m fee we sold Afobe for, it’s hard to imagine Wenger didn’t put any number of clauses into the contract. We’ve seen sell on clauses as big as 50% in the past, so the reported £10m fee Bournemouth are paying could net us a decent sum.
As we’ve said, this is totally speculation, but with Wenger’s track record it certainly makes sense. He inserts these types of clauses into many of the deals that see players leave, and there’s no reason to think Afobe was any different.
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Either way, it will be great to see Afobe in the Premier League, and hopefully he thrives at Bournemouth and continues his development. It’s always nice to see ex-Arsenal academy stars do well, especially when they leave on good terms.
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