Harry Diamond
West Brom have agreed a deal to sign Arsenal’s Ainsley Maitland-Niles on loan for the remainder of the season with the midfielder keen to secure regular first-team football.
Maitland-Niles had attracted interest from several Premier League clubs after expressing a desire to leave the Gunners in search of regular football, with Leicester and Southampton having both been interested in signing the 23-year-old to strengthen their options.
Arsenal, however, were reluctant to allow the midfielder to join Leicester given the Foxes’ position as rivals for European qualification, whilst Southampton wanted Maitland-Niles to play full-back and not his preferred midfield role.
Those scenarios have allowed West Brom in, with Sky Sports reporting that the Baggies have now agreed a loan deal, with Maitland-Niles hopeful regular first-team football can boost his chances of making the England squad for this summer’s European Championships after breaking into Gareth Southgate’s senior side last year.
Newcastle had also expressed an interest in the player, though are working on a deal to sign Joe Willock from Arsenal and Premier League rules state a club cannot loan more than one player from the same team.
Maitland-Niles and Willock could be amongst a trio of Arsenal departures before the deadline with reports suggesting Schalke are interested in Shkodran Mustafi, in a deal which could see young centre-back Ozan Kabak head to Liverpool on loan from the Bundesliga side.
Arsenal are understood to be open to allowing the German to leave with just six months remaining on his contract, in a similar agreement to those that saw Sokratis and Mesut Ozil exit earlier this month.
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