Sheffield United goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale is keen on a move to Premier League giants Arsenal this summer, according to talkSPORT journalist Alex Crook.

Ramsdale, 23, enjoyed a bright second half to last season despite the Blades' relegation back to the Championship and after Nick Pope sustained a severe injury towards the latter stages of the campaign, the shot-stopper was called up in his place to join England's 33-man provisional squad for the European Championships.

Although he missed out when the squad was whittled down to 26 in favour of Jordan Pickford, Sam Johnstone and Dean Henderson, the latter sustained a hip issue and was forced to pull out of the squad after the Three Lions' opening group game against Croatia.

 

 

This forced Southgate to recall Ramsdale, who hasn't been able to focus on his domestic future until a couple of weeks ago due to the international tournament, but previously reiterated his commitment to the Blades despite their drop to the second tier after only re-joining the South Yorkshire side less than 12 months ago.

But in a surprising turn of events, report Alex Crook is now saying he's keen on a move to Arsenal, who have been closely monitoring the 23-year-old throughout the summer but only managed to make their first move last month due to the Euros.

Speaking on talkSPORT about the current situation, Crook said: "He’s keen on the move.

"My understanding is that there were interests from two other Premier League clubs in the form of Burnley and Watford.

"But he only wants to go to one of the top clubs in the country. They are spending money, Arsenal."

The Gunners recently secured the signing of Brighton and Hove Albion defender Ben White for a £50m - and have already bid twice for Ramsdale's services in their attempts to provide competition to Bernd Leno following Matthew Ryan's departure.

According to The Times, Sheffield United are currently demanding £32m for his services and although it's currently unclear whether Mikel Arteta's side are prepared to match that valuation, they are reportedly considering launching a third bid to try and get this deal over the line.

The Verdict:

Although staying in the Championship could be detrimental to his England chances with the likes of Pickford, Johnstone and Pope at Gareth Southgate's disposal, so will staying on the bench and he may not get much playing time at Arsenal if 29-year-old Leno remains at the Emirates Stadium.

After two consecutive relegations, Ramsdale could benefit from having a successful season at the right end of the table and although Arsenal are one of the giants of the Premier League in terms of size, they have declined in recent years and that has caused a bad atmosphere in north London.

Is this what the 23-year-old really needs after showing such promise in the past couple of years?

With Sam Johnstone already reported to be pushing Dean Henderson to be second-choice keeper for the Three Lions, there's no reason why Ramsdale can't push his way past him in the pecking order either with the Manchester United keeper set to be David de Gea's understudy for the majority of next season.

Therefore, remaining at Bramall Lane under a previous promotion-winning manager could be his best option at this stage.