Umberto Riva, who was heavily involved in Joel Campbell’s summer transfer to Frosinone, has explained to the media how the move came about.

It’s rare to hear the inside story on Arsenal transfers, as generally agents tend to keep tight lipped on exactly how things went down. Riva acted as a bit of a middle man in Campbell’s move to Italy though, and was happy to spill the beans to Tutto Mercato Web.

“The negotiation was born only at the beginning of this week,” he explained. “I received a report from one of my partners on the Italian market, Vasco Morelli, of Frosinone’s will to bring an international attacker who could play with speed and between the lines to the Stadio Benito Stirpe.

“I immediately thought of Joel’s profile. I knew it would not be an easy negotiation, but with strong relations with Arsenal and the agent of the player I was immediately very confident about the success of the operation.”

Riva then went on to reveal how quickly and quietly the three parties managed to get the deal done. Although Riva didn’t want to talk about the money involved, amid talk of Campbell taking a pay cut, clearly the forward was impressed with the project at the promoted Serie A club.

“Thanks to the great professionalism and competence of the sports director Marco Giannitti and the speed in traveling of the player’s agent Joaquim Batica, we found the agreement with club and player in one day without leaking any news, at explicit request of some of the parties involved

“I do not want, out of respect for the two clubs, to talk about details about the contract but I can tell you that the player and his agent immediately understood the seriousness and ambition of the Frosinone project, and have immediately been happy to be part of it.”

A new beginning, at last

Whilst Campbell was complimentary about Arsenal in his farewell messages on social media, he must also be relieved to be finally taking the next step in his career. The last seven years have involved six loan spells from Arsenal, and only 23 league appearances for his parent club.

Knowing you’ll only last at each club you join for a few months or a year must be tough, especially when it’s not by choice. Now Campbell can make a permanent impact somewhere at last, and good luck to him!