Arsenal have been knocked back in their attempts to sign Napoli’s Jorginho after offering £15m for midfielder only to be told that he’s not for sale.

• President admits striker wants to play for Arsenal because of Arsene Wenger

Under contract with the Italians until 2020, Jorginho signed for Napoli in 2014 when he moved from Hellas Verona for £8m.

Valued at just over £18m, Arsenal’s first offer is a lowball bid, perhaps to test the waters. If that was the case, the answer they received was definitive, at least in terms of this bid. He’s not for sale.

Jorginho made 31 appearances for Napoli last season across all competitions but often found himself benched in favour of Amadou Diawara or Allan. Could Arsenal tempt the player with an offer of regular playing time? Possibly, but room would certainly need to be made in the squad for him.

Despite his lack of regular playing time, Jorginho finished the season with more passes per game than any other player across Europe’s top five leagues.