Arsenal have submitted an offer to Dalian Yifang to sign Yannick Carrasco, which the Chinese club are open to, but there’s still work to do to get a deal over the line.
Euro United, an affiliate to the reliable French outlet Paris United, report that Arsenal submitted an offer to Dalian Yifang on Tuesday. They also confirm the winger won’t go to Inter Milan, with Inter’s president deciding their transfer business is done for the window.
According to the Telegraph, Arsenal are hoping for another loan deal with an option to buy, as in the case of Denis Suarez. The Daily Mail confirm this, writing that Arsenal have ‘revived their interest’ in the player, and are in discussion with the forward’s representatives over a late move.
James Olley of the Evening Standard also writes that Carrasco is emerging as an ’11th hour alternative to Perisic’, so the English media are all in agreement on that front.
Carrasco’s agent said at the weekend that although the player greatly respects his current club, his family ‘are having problems adapting to China’. Carrasco spoke to the club to reveal his personal problems, and his agent hopes this will help him secure a move, saying (via Daily Mail):
“He (Carrasco) wants to be honest with them (Dalian), and it’s for this reason that he’s talked to the club, informing them that he isn’t 100 per cent focused because of his family’s difficulties. Yannick’s very focused on working, but for his family it’s different. He has too much respect for the club not to tell them.
“There’s the possibility that Dalian reward this honesty and talk to the clubs interested in him.”
However, there’s a catch. Although Dalian are indeed open to offers, they want guarantees over a replacement before they’ll let Carrasco go, according to Belgian journalist Kristof Terreur.
The Chinese transfer window doesn’t close for another month, so Dalian have plenty of time to close a deal. Still, they’d have to sell Carrasco this month, and they aren’t going to let one of their star players go until they think they’ve found a realistic replacement option.
This deal may well end up going right down to the wire.