Sheffield United: Proposal Arsenal will make to Blades if opening bid for Aaron Ramsdale is rejected

According to one national radio station, officials at the Emirates Stadium are poised to fire the opening shot in what has so far been a war of speculation and supposition by submitting a £30m bid over the coming days.

Although that falls well short of the £40m valuation United have placed on the 23-year-old, the Premier League club hope it will be enough to lure Bramall Lane’s board of directors to the negotiating table.

If not, then sources in north London believe it will quickly be followed by another as Mikel Arteta’s employers attempt to ratchet-up the pressure on the Championship club.

The second proposal, which Arsenal’s transfer negotiation and sporting departments are already thought to be working on, could contain an invitation to recruit some of their up-and-coming young talents on loan ahead of the forthcoming campaign.

Despite also monitoring Sam Johnstone’s situation at West Bromwich Albion - who like United were also relegated from the Premier League last term - Ramsdale is Arteta’s preferred choice as he attempts to strengthen his squad following a disappointing season in north London.

United, who unveiled Slavisa Jokanovic as their new manager earlier this month, are not actively looking to sell the former Steelphalt Academy graduate and reigning player of the year.

However, after taking the decision to focus on making temporary rather than permanent acquisitions during the present window, it is clear they are having to reprofile their finances following two seasons in the top-flight.

Having been sold to AFC Bournemouth for around £1m midway through their League One promotion winning campaign in 2017, Ransdale returned to South Yorkshire last summer after completing an £18m move.

Although a series of superb displays after Christmas were not enough to save United from the drop, they did earn him a place in the England squad for the recent European Championships when Dean Henderson was forced to withdraw through injury. Ramsdale was previously capped by his country at under-21 level.