Pablo Mari is Hellas Verona’s priority signing to reinforce their defence, with negotiations ongoing to find an agreement with Arsenal.

Corriere di Verona (via Sport Witness) report that Pablo Mari is Hellas Verona’s primary defensive target, and they’re in negotiations with Arsenal over a deal.

Finding an agreement with the Gunners is expected to be complicated, but still possible. The primary issue appears to be Mari’s wages.

Serie A clubs have a bit of a reputation for significantly lower wage bills than in the Premier League, so Hellas Verona would apparently need Arsenal to cover some of Mari’s salary.

Arsenal might consider that option, given it would get the bulk of the wages off the books and bring in a small fee upfront as well.

But if another club is willing to pay a fee and Mari’s entire wages then that deal would obviously take priority.

Mari spent the last six months on loan with Udinese, and it initially appeared likely he could return. Following a positive spell with the club, they made an offer of €4m to sign him permanently.

But there has been little progress on a deal since, and Di Marzio then reported Hellas Verona were entering the race.

What could make the move appealing to Mari is Gabriele Cioffi’s switch from Udinese to manage Hellas Verona. Cioffi was in charge at Udinese throughout Mari’s loan, and he’d now like to bring the Spaniard with him to Verona.

Sporting director Francesco Marroccu is reportedly on board and keen to give Cioffi a reunion with the Arsenal man, so all the pieces could be in place.