Arsenal could let Aaron Ramsey join Juventus in January if they can secure a move for centre-back Medhi Benatia in return, according to reports in Italy.
Italian outlet Gazzetta dello Sport claim Unai Emery is pushing to bolster his defender after a number of injuries, and Arsenal have enquired about Benatia’s availability. However, as we covered on Saturday, Juventus aren’t keen to sell.
In the same vein, Juventus are very interested in bringing Aaron Ramsey to their club, but Arsenal don’t really want to let the midfielder go before the summer.
As a result, Gazzetta are suggesting that the two clubs could reach a compromise where Arsenal sanction an early exit for Ramsey on the condition that Juventus do the same with Benatia. It’s unclear at this stage how keen either club is on this option.
On Saturday, Italian journalist Nicolo Schira wrote that Benatia’s entourage had received offers from Arsenal and Schalke in recent weeks, and the player himself is ready to listen to them. It’s just his club standing in the way of a possible move.
L’entourage di Mehdi #Benatia ha ricevuto proposte da #Arsenal e #Schalke nelle ultime settimane: il centrale marocchino era pronto a valutarle, ma per la #Juventus a gennaio è incedibile. In estate invece probabile l’addio #calciomercato
— Nicolò Schira (@NicoSchira) January 5, 2019
It’s hard to see the Serie A club’s motivation for holding onto Benatia. His contract expires in 2020 and he’s 31 years old, so he’s only getting less valuable with each passing window. Plus, he’s spending hardly any time on the pitch for them right now, with just five league starts and one Champions League start for the season.
Perhaps Juventus just need the extra push that completing the Ramsey deal early would provide.