Arsenal have reportedly had a £55m bid for Cengiz Under turned down.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDtY2jYa7U0
Arsenal scouts were present to watch Cengiz Under as he found the back of the net against Inter Milan but their latest bid has been rejected according to a report from Turkey.
The amount of smoke around this rumour leads me to believe that Arsenal are indeed interested, but a move of this size would make a mockery of the claims Arsenal only have £40m to spend in this window given how little they are likely to recoup from player sales at this time of the year.
In December it was claimed that Arsenal are one of three clubs ‘serious’ about signing AS Roma winger Cengiz Under, with the Gunners, Tottenham Hotspur and Bayern Munich all making contact with the player’s representatives.
Turkish-Football writer Eren Sarigul claims only the above trio are ‘currently serious’ about signing the 21-year-old. They’ve all made contact with Under’s agent over a move, with Bayern the favourites at this stage. The German club see the player as a replacement for Arjen Robben, who will be 35 in January.
Contrary to other previous reports, Sarigul claims Manchester City and Manchester United haven’t made any offers or held talks with the player.
Roma reportedly ‘only’ wanted €50m or more to let go of Under, who has a contract running until 2022 as it stands. He’s reportedly happy where he is, but it appears more and more likely he’ll leave at the end of the season, and he’d prefer a move to the Premier League at that stage.
Earlier in December Gazzetta dello Sport (via Sky Sports) reported that an Arsenal scout was in attendance for one of Under’s matches against Viktoria Plzen. Although Roma ended up losing 2-1, the winger impressed nonetheless, scoring their only goal.
Nicolo Schira, a reporter for the same Italian outlet, also previously claimed that Arsenal were ‘really interested’ in Under. The Gunners reportedly sent a scout to watch him in Roma’s match against Inter Milan as well.
Just as against Plzen, Under scored in that Serie A clash, so he’s certainly making a good impression. The winger is now up to six goals and eight assists in 23 appearances this season.