Arsenal F.C. had its eye on Thomas Partey of Atletico Madrid but it appears another club has beaten them to him. Juventus has entered the race for the 27-year-old Ghanaian player and it appears the feeling is mutual. If true, the only thing missing right now is for Bianconeri to meet the asking fee of Los Indios. Atletico wants roughly $45.5 million for Partey.
Juventus ended up joining the race for Partey after realizing they needed to improve its defensive midfield, La Gazzetta Dello Sport reported. Partey is being eyed to fill in the void left by Blaise Matuidi. Matuidi is now with Inter Miami. Aside from that, the sudden interest may have come from new manager Andrea Pirlo. Taking over from Maurizio Sarri, Partey could be part of his plans to fill in the midfield that already has Arthur and Bentancur.
Arsenal tried various ways to land Partey though it seemed pretty clear that they had trouble raising the funds to meet Atletico’s asking price. The Gunners tried to dangle Matteo Guendouzi plus cash but Los Indios was firm on wanting a straight cash deal.
Ironically, it appears Atletico is not entirely closing the door on a possible player plus cash deal. There is one player reportedly of interest to them in the person of Alexandre Lacazette. Unfortunately, Mikel Arteta was not willing to let the French player go.
Arsenal is struggling to come up with the funds to land their preferred targets. They recently signed Willian Borges da Silva, a move that will further deplete their cash reserves. If they fall short in their pursuit of Partey, Arteta may have to divert his attention to other players. Aside from the Ghanaian player, other targets include Philippe Coutinho. But at this point, the Gunners need to clear room first before taking any new player in.
Among the players Arsenal is expected to offload are Guendouzi and Mesut Ozil. Guendouzi has already received interest from several teams. But the club most likely to land him is Villareal because of Unai Emery. It was Emery who took in Guendouzi at Emirates Stadium and gave him extensive playing time.
Another player that the Gunners may have to offload is Mesut Ozil. The German has made it clear that he will play out the remainder of his contract even if he is not utilized. Ozil has received offers from other leagues but prefers to stay in Europe. If not with the Gunners, he could be loaned out if there are willing takers.
