Arsenal finally drop out of midfielder’s pursuit

Serie A giants Juventus are set to complete their summer-long pursuit of Sassuolo midfielder Manuel Locatelli.

According to transfer-market specialist Fabrizio Romano, the Turin club are set to submit their final bid for the 23-year-old this week. The Old Lady are confident of reaching an agreement in the region of €35 million. The structure of the deal is yet to be finalized.

Juventus are ready to submit their final bid to Sassuolo in order to sign Manuel Locatelli this week. The agreement is set to be reached for €35m – deal structure still not completed, final details. ⚪️⚫️🇮🇹 #Juve @SkySport

Arsenal out of the race – Locatelli only wants Juventus.

— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) August 16, 2021

Locatelli has come through AC Milan’s youth ranks. He joined Sassuolo, on loan with an obligation to pay, in the summer of 2018. Since then, he has established his reputation as one of the best young midfielders in Italian football.

He was a key part of Antonio Conte’s Italy side that won the recently-concluded Euro Cup. He certainly announced himself on the global stage with his brace in the group win over Switzerland.

This development marks the final nail in the coffin of Arsenal’s pursuit of the Italian midfielder.

The Gunners attempted to sign the midfielder earlier in the window and even submitted an official bid, matching Sassuolo’s valuation.

However, their advances were turned down by the player, who has been adamant about joining Juventus.

Arsenal have already signed a central midfielder in Sambi Lokonga this summer. Notwithstanding, they wanted to sign another central midfielder. Now, it appears that they have given up on their plan and have instead decided to keep Granit Xhaka.

Granit Xhaka deal, completed and confirmed. Contract signed until June 2025 with increased salary after AS Roma talks collapsed weeks ago. 🔴 #AFC

Arsenal are also working to sign Ødegaard on permanent deal – waiting for ‘green light’ from Real Madrid to submit the official bid. https://t.co/g9INNwnNIt

— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) August 16, 2021

The Swiss midfielder was linked with a move to AS Roma all summer. However, that move now appears to be dead as Arsenal have extended his contract. According to another report from Romano, Xhaka has signed a new deal with the North London club.

The new contract will keep the 28-year-old at the club until June, 2015.

It has certainly been a terrible week for the Arsenal fanbase, which is rife with discontent after the opening-day defeat at Brentford.

Questions have been asked about Mikel Arteta’s ability. And the decision to extend Xhaka’s contract hasn’t gone down well with the majority of the fanbase.