Newcastle United were one of the clubs who failed with efforts to sign Mohamed Elneny in the winter market, according to the Arsenal player’s agent.
The midfielder has seen his playing time restricted this season and has made only one league start for the north London club. He has started three more matches in the EFL Cup.
Galatasaray and Fenerbahçe came forward to take the 29-year-old away from Arsenal last summer, but no deal took shape.
A lack of regular opportunities under Mikel Arteta saw the likes of the Magpies, Lyon and the Turkish club try to get the Egypt international in January. His contract expires in June and without a renewal, the former FC Basel man will leave the Gunners as a free agent in the summer.
Despite the current situation, Elneny’s agent Alan Nazmy has revealed Arteta and Arsenal were not willing to let his client leave in the last window.
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“Mohamed Elneny doesn’t follow social media directly, but sometimes someone from his circle would send him news about him or criticism,” Nazmy told Mega FM 92.7, as relayed by KingFut.com.
“The player’s contract expires at the end of the current season, and Arteta rejected all offers that came for Elneny and asked that him to stay with the team.”
“Newcastle United, Valencia, Lyon, and the largest known Turkish clubs, Galatasaray and Fenerbahce, wanted to sign Elneny, but in the end Arteta and the Arsenal management refused.”
Nazmy further stressed he is not in discussions with clubs outside Europe for Elneny’s transfer.
“There are no official talks with Al Ahly [Egyptian club], and the question is illogical. Elneny still has the desire and ability to play in Europe. We only talk about that because Elneny played in Al Ahly’s academy,” the agent explained.
“When asked about playing for Al Ahly, Elneny replied by saying that he still has the ability to play in Europe. But after four years his performance will differ, and maybe he would have retired. He doesn’t want people to see him perform poorly and he wants to retire in Europe,” he concluded.
If Newcastle are still keen to sign Elneny, they have an opportunity to sign him on a free transfer after this season.
