Arsenal have had a €30m bid rejected for Cengiz Under according to a report from Italy that was picked up by a number of other outlets, however, a little investigating shows all is not quite what it seems.
For a start, the report from Italy on Calciomercato.com clearly states ‘According to reports in the English press’ so this isn’t a report hailing from Italy.
So where does it come from?
It seems as if it might have hailed from people not reading what is in front of them and not checking stated sources.
Football Italia reported a story on 10 October about Arsenal’s interest in Under, stating that they got it from CalcioNews24. These seem to be the earliest mentions of this specific rumour, however, Football Italia don’t mention any sort of bid from Arsenal, nor do the Italians.
A check of the Italian site shows that they do mention Arsenal as interested, but any talk of money is mere speculation about the price it would take to get Under from Rome. They also write that Roma are trying to get him to agree a new deal that would have a release fee between €40 and €50m.
That same article does mention ‘€30m’ but that is in terms of Roma wanting to avoid what happened with Lorenzo Pellegrini who’s €30m release clause can be split into two €15m payments. Football Italia also mention this in their article. Nowhere do any of these source articles mention Arsenal have bid €30m.
Yet here we are talking about a reported €30m bid from Arsenal.
Given that all the reports I’ve seen so far cite Calciomercato as their source, and that Calciomercato cite the unnamed ‘English press’ as theirs, this is certainly one rumour to be cautious of.
Under, 21, is a left-footed right-winger who hails from Turkey. He signed for Roma from Basaksehir in the summer of 2017 for a fee of £12.06m. Now, a bid well in excess of €30m will be required to tempt Roma into selling.
He has four assists and two goals in eight matches this season on the back of eight goals and two assists in 32 games last season.
This is far from the first time Arsenal have been linked with Under. Roma reportedly rejected a £26m bid from the club back in May, while the club reportedly approached for him in March only to be rebuffed.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ew8DL8-3JrY
Roma have been consistent in their assertion that the player is not for sale.
His current contract runs until 2022.