According to a report from Italy, Arsenal have made contact over a move for Juventus midfielder, Manuel Locatelli, and the Old Lady could be open to letting him go.
during the warm up prior to the Serie A match between Juventus and Bologna FC at Allianz Stadium on October 02, 2022 in Turin, Italy. (Photo by Jonathan Moscrop/Getty Images)
In the summer of 2021, Arsenal tried very hard to sign Manuel Locatelli from Sassuolo.
In the end, however, despite a rumoured €40m Arsenal bid, Locatelli opted to join Juventus on a two-year loan, that came with an obligation to buy, and that was the end of that.
Until last week, that is, when it was reported that Arsenal were considering a move for the player who has reportedly not impressed as much as Juventus would have liked. Now, it seems they have ‘made contact’.
Juventus have already paid £12.6m for the loan deal and are obliged to pay another €40m in 2023 to make it permanent.
According to Calciomercato, €40m is the minimum Juventus would expect for him.
Locatelli has played 52 times for Juventus, scoring three and assisting five. He averages around 70 minutes per game and has been used from the start in every Serie A game he has been available for this season.
That would beg the question of how much faith we can put in a report of Juventus’s unhappiness with him. If they are that dissatisfied, do they have no other options in their side to replace him with as a starter?
In any event, it is Calciomercato who are driving this story (with a little help from Il Bianconero) and with the January transfer window only a few months away, we won’t have long to wait until we find out.
Italians don’t often come Arsenal’s way. In fact, they’ve only had three – Arturo Lupoli, Vito Mannone, and Emiliano Viviano.
It will be interesting to see if Arteta and co. can change that. Or if they even want to.