Sheffield United target Daniel Ballard [Standard], had a £2M bid agreed for him between Arsenal and Burnley, according to Football Insider. However, reports from Alan Nixon now suggest that Burnley have pulled out of the deal due to terms not being agreed upon.
At this moment in time, it is unclear on whether or not it was personal terms not being agreed upon, or whether it was the clauses that Arsenal inserted into the deal.
Arsenal intended to include a matching clause and a sell-on clause in the contract, giving them first right of refusal on a future sale, and a cut of the profits if they didn’t want to buy him back. [Per The Athletic].
The planned deal was also structured with performance-related add-ons, meaning the better Ballard did, the more Arsenal would earn.
Will this open the door for the Blades to swoop in? Or will Millwall and QPR now fancy their chances of snapping the 22 year-old defender?
Ballard was loaned out to Millwall last season where he played 33 games for the club across the league and cups. So do this now make Millwall the favourites to sign the Arsenal man?
Arsenal are happy to let Ballard go, at a fair price, but can United afford to bid £3M for Anel Ahmedhodzic, as well as bidding £2M for Ballard?
As it stands, United are light on senior bodies at centre-back, so maybe United will come sniffing around for Ballard again.
It could be off-putting that Burnley potentially pulled out of the deal due to not coming to an agreement on personal terms, and as we know the Blades are careful when it comes to wages. Or is it Arsenal’s demands that are too much to agree on?