Juventus are trying to convince Arsenal to let go of Aaron Ramsey in January, and are considering offering defender Medhi Benatia in a swap deal to make it happen, according to reports in Italy.

Italian outlet La Gazzetta dello Sport (via Mirror) previously reported that Arsenal had enquired about Benatia’s availability. At the time, Juventus weren’t keen to sell. However, a week later, the same Italian outlet now report that the Serie A club are considering it as an option, as they try to convince Arsenal to let Aaron Ramsey go in January.

Manager Massimiliano Allegri isn’t keen to lose Benatia, but the player himself is particularly unhappy with his situation at Juventus at the moment.

Nicolo Schira recently wrote that Benatia’s entourage had received offers from Arsenal and Schalke in recent weeks, and the defender was 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 that’s why they’re starting to consider the swap as an option, and it would certainly help Arsenal to reinforce the defence without having to part with a transfer fee. We’ll see if the deal has any legs in the coming weeks.