Kostas Manolas has spoken out about his future amid speculation that he is wanted by Arsenal and Chelsea.
The Roma defender has been linked with Arsenal recently and the gossip surrounding his players prompted Luciano Spalletti to plead them to focus only on the present and ignore the rumours that surround them.
In the case of Manolas, things got so heated after Mino Raiola, agent for Ibrahimovic, Pogba and Bolotelli commented that it would be hard for the Italians to keep hold of the defender, the player himself decided to speak out.
“At Roma I feel good,” Manolas said. “I still have three years left on my contract.”
A thoroughly convincing statement right there if ever I heard one.
Parts of the Italian press think that Manolas’s value has doubled in the two years since he arrived at the club for €13m from Olympiacos and expect an offer of around €30m before Roma would consider selling. That’s around £23.4m, not at all an unreasonable amount for a defender who is just 24 and has three years remaining on his current deal.
With Mathieu Debuchy likely to leave the club permanently this summer, Arsenal will certainly be in the market for a right-back, a position Manolas can play, but would he come to the club knowing that he will play second fiddle to Hector Bellerin, a player who is younger than him and not likely to be dropped any time soon?
Would Arsene Wenger pay £23.4m for a second-choice player?
All seems very unlikely if you ask me.
He does play mainly as a centreback, a role he’s been used in more and more and that has seen him linked with Chelsea as a replacement for John Terry. But again, is this a position Arsenal will be looking to improve? Possibly if they let Per Mertesacker go, but that seems unlikely at this point. With Gabriel, Chambers and Kos already at the club, is there room for one more?
Chelsea on the other hand, well, they’re just stupid with their money regardless of their circumstances.