There’s no real possibility of a swap deal between Arsenal and Juventus involving Daniele Rugani and Hector Bellerín, according to a report from Italy.
Fabrizio Romano writes for Calciomercato that Juventus sporting director Fabio Paratici did not reach any agreement with Arsenal over a swap deal between Daniele Rugani and Hector Bellerín.
Reports in the Italian media recently suggested the deal was a possibility the Serie A club were pushing.
Talks over a deal like that didn’t take off, and there are no advanced negotiations between Arsenal and Rugani over any sort of deal. Nor is there any real chance of a swap involving Bellerín.
As we pointed out in our initial coverage of the rumours, this was always a deal more likely to appeal to Juventus than Arsenal. The Gunners have other defensive targets and David Ornstein recently claimed they want Bellerín to stay.
Essentially, we can write this one off.
It’s not clear that Arsenal ever wanted Rugani, despite years of links to him. But right now, as the club close in on a move for Gabriel to add to an already lengthy list of centre-backs, it seems more improbable than ever.