Pablo Mari could be set to follow Udinese boss Gabriele Cioffi to Hellas Verona, according to reports in Italy.

Pablo 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.

That fee was always unlikely to convince Arsenal to sell, and there has been little progress on a deal since then.

Now it seems Mari could be set for another Serie A club instead. Di Marzio report that the centre-back is on Hellas Verona’s shortlist, as they prioritise reinforcing their defence.

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.

We’re yet to see a single serious bid from a Serie A club for an Arsenal player in recent seasons.

The last time Arsenal sold a player to Italy (not including free transfers) was when Napoli signed David Ospina for £3.6m in 2019.

The last time Arsenal sold a player to Italy for more than £10m was Wojciech Szczesny in 2017. That’s also the only time it’s happened since Patrick Vieira joined Juventus.

But you’d imagine Arsenal would accept an offer of £5-10m for Mari, so I wouldn’t completely rule this one out.