Arsenal have rejected a loan offer from Napoli for David Ospina, but the Italian side are expected to come back with another bid before the end of the window.
Napoli are looking for a quick fix in goal, after new signing Alex Meret broke his arm before the season could even get underway. As a result, they’re reportedly leaning more towards Ospina than Guillermo Ochoa, because Ochoa is making them wait, according to Martin del Palacio, whilst Arsenal want to sell quickly.
Despite that, Arsenal have actually turned the Serie A club’s first offer down. Napoli wanted to take Ospina on loan, with an obligation to buy after the loan ends, but the Gunners are only interested in an outright sale, according to Sky Sport Italia. Carlo Ancelotti’s side plan to return with another offer.
To an extent, it shouldn’t really make much difference to Arsenal whether they sell Ospina now or after a loan spell, because it doesn’t appear they’re planning to use the funds to bring in anyone in the current window anyway. However, perhaps they just want the guarantee that Napoli won’t pull out of the permanent move later.
This saga will likely drag on for the rest of the month, because there’s no rush for Arsenal to sell before the Premier League deadline.