Sassuolo CEO Giovanni Carnevali raised the excitement level among Arsenal fans this week by claiming that the Gunners have tabled an official bid to sign Manuel Locatelli this summer. (Read here)
The 23-year-old has been a real star at Euro 2020 for Italy in recent weeks and he has impressed everyone. Arsenal fans would love nothing more than to see Locatelli at the Emirates next season, and our alleged ‘concrete offer’ convinced supporters that we have a chance to sign him.
However, Goal’s Arsenal correspondent Charles Watts has brought us back to earth. He claims that sources at the Emirates have told him that no official bid has been tabled yet, and there’s a general feeling across Italy that Locatelli will be heading to Juventus after the Euros, not North London.
Watts: Juventus are in the driving seat for Arsenal-linked Locatelli
Watts said on his YouTube show: “What I understand from sources at Arsenal are pretty much in contradiction to what the Sassuolo CEO said. Sources I speak to at Arsenal have denied making an official bid for Manuel Locatelli, but there’s definitely interest in him from Arsenal. I’ve had that confirmed.
“There has been talks between the two clubs about him. In those talks, maybe, there’s been a figure mentioned of what Arsenal are willing to pay, and that’s maybe what Sassuolo are talking about.
“Arsenal are very much aware as well that Juventus are in the driving seat for this one. By all accounts, the player wants to move to Juventus and Juventus absolutely want to sign him. It’s just the case of getting a deal done that suits both them and Sassuolo.
“Arsenal are in the background waiting to see if they (Juve) can push the deal through. If they can, Arsenal will move on and look elsewhere. If they can’t, Arsenal will be willing to come in and see if they can get a deal done for him.
“Our Juventus reporter is convinced that it’s only a matter of time before Locatelli does sign for Juventus. That’s the general feeling across Italy. Although there is interest in him, Arsenal will probably have to look elsewhere to bring that midfielder in to replace Granit Xhaka.”
The Insider’s View:
Sassuolo CEO’s comments really excited all of us, but it looks like he’s just using Arsenal’s name to get more cash out of Juventus. That’s bad news for us, but the good thing here is that there is genuine interest from the Gunners.
Juve are the biggest club in Italy, but the financial impact of the global pandemic has hurt them a lot. That could complicate things for the Old Lady this summer, especially as Sassuolo aren’t willing to sell him for anything less than £34 million.
Read more: Blow for Arteta as Arsenal-linked 17-goal star’s price has now shot up to £77.5m
That figure is an affordable one for Arsenal and there’s a good chance for us to get him. However, if Juve agree to meet Sassuolo’s demands, there’s almost no chance for Mikel Arteta and Edu to lure him away from Turin.
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