Arsenal and West Ham are reportedly facing a major issue when it comes to bringing prolific Feyenoord striker Santiago Gimenez to the Premier League in the January transfer window.
The Mexico international frontman is one of the most sought-after No.9s in world football after an impressive campaign last time around and a superb start to the current season.
Gimenez notched 23 goals in 45 games for his club last term but has 15 in 15 outings in all competitions this season for a Feyenoord side that is currently second in the Eredivisie table.
The 22-year-old has also been heavily linked with Tottenham as a replacement for Harry Kane, while Atletico Madrid and Barcelona have been tipped to move for Gimenez in the past.
However, according to the Mirror, all those clubs mentioned above have a major issue to overcome in that Feyenoord are completely refusing to do business.
The Dutch outfit are desperate to keep their talismanic forward and will ‘rebuff any January approaches’, especially while they are still in the Eredivisie title mix.
Arne Slot’s side currently have 29 points from 12 matches but are seven behind leaders PSV.
Gimenez has scored 13 goals and given three assists in 12 league games this season and was recently lauded for his qualities by former Tottenham playmaker Rafael van der Vaart, who described the Mexican as a “a very good striker”.
However, it appears that it will take a very big offer for Feyenoord to even contemplate selling Gimenez in the middle of the season.
€40M is a steal for Santiago Gimenez.
For context, Santi plays as a striker for Feyenoord in the Eredivisie. His stats:
🏟️Matches: 11
⚽️Goals: 15
🅰️Assists: 3The Mexican admitted in an interview he would be delighted to play for Real Madrid.
pic.twitter.com/NcEtpJcMOF https://t.co/UU4TaojfPN
— Mayank (@MayankRMFC) October 26, 2023
In terms of Arsenal‘s interest, it mainly stems from a lack of consistency from main striker Gabriel Jesus, who has notched four times in 11 games this season but has been troubled by injury issues.
West Ham, meanwhile, are looking for more competition for Michail Antonio in attack after failing to replace Gianluca Scamacca during the summer.
Both clubs will return to Premier League action at the weekend when the Gunners head to Brentford, while David Moyes’ men are at Burnley.
