Arsenal starter ‘keen on move’ as Juve ‘ask for info’ on €20m deal with three-year contract ‘ready’
Arsenal midfielder Thomas Partey is now attracting interest from Serie A giants Juventus and has ‘given his ok’ to the move, according to reports.
Mikel Arteta is planning a huge midfield overhaul in the summer transfer window with Granit Xhaka also expected to leave.
A deal to sign Chelsea’s Kai Havertz – who can operate in the front three and in midfield – is close to being finalised, while West Ham’s Declan Rice remains the Gunners’ number-one summer target.
However, Arsenal are now facing stiff competition from Premier League and European champions Manchester City for Rice’s signature after having two bids knocked back by the Hammers.
Should Arteta and director of football Edu fail to land the England midfielder, they might opt to turn away any interest in Partey, who is likely to fall out of favour if the £90m West Ham captain moves to north London.
Without Rice, Arsenal would be pretty foolish to let the Ghanaian international leave, though crazier things have happened, especially at the Emirates, where nobody knows to this day what the hell they are smoking.
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Arteta does also have Jorginho at his disposal, while he is targeting Southampton’s Romeo Lavia and Brighton’s Moises Caicedo, meaning Partey’s exit cannot be fully ruled out if Rice does not join.
AS Monaco and Saudi Arabia have both shown interest in signing the 30-year-old, and Italian outfit Juventus have now joined the race, as per Fabrizio Romano.
Romano says the Serie A club have ‘asked for info’ as they ponder a move for the midfielder.
The news has also been reported by Gianluca Di Marzio, who says Max Allegri has made Partey a midfield target, despite hoping to extend the contract of Manchester United target Adrien Rabiot.
The former Atletico Madrid midfielder has ‘given the ok to the transfer’ and he could leave Arsenal for a fee between €18million and €20m, which is a very good fee from a Juventus point of view.
Writing on Twitter, Di Marzio said Partey is ‘keen on the move’ and the Old Lady will accelerate in their pursuit if Rabiot, who is out of contract at the end of June, decides not to extend.
Reports suggest Arsenal could receive double what Juve are willing to pay if they sell Partey to a club in Saudi Arabia.
Romano has said Saudi clubs would pay ‘€40m in three installments’, though the player has not accepted any proposals from the ambitious middle eastern league.
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