Arsenal have stepped up their pursuit of Manuel Locatelli with the Gunners making a £ 34m bid for midfielder Sassuolo.
The Italian international was one of the stars of his country’s triumphant Euro 2020 campaign and scored two goals against Switzerland in Roberto Mancini’s second outing when Gli Azzurri secured the top spot in Group A before continuing to win his second European title.
Arsenal not give up Manuel Locatelli yet / Carl Recine – Pool / Getty Images
Speculation had already begun circulating about Locatelli’s future ahead of this summer’s European Championships, and his fantastic display in the tournament has only served to improve such rumors.
Both Arsenal and Juventus have been credited with an interest in the 23-year-old, with Locatelli’s desire to play Champions League football, meaning Old Lady are hot favorites to secure his signature.
However, that has not stopped Mikel Arteta from continuing to pursue the midfielder, and Sky Sports Italia confirms (via the Evening Standard) that Arsenal have made a bid of 40 million euros.
The offer was announced by Juve youth agent Nicolo Fagioli – a player rumored to have been offered Sassuolo as part of a deal to bring Locatelli to Turin – and after revealing the offer from Arsenal, he continued to deny his offer as part of a business.
“Juventus would like to sign Locatelli and Arsenal have already offered € 40 million (£ 34 million),” he said. “But I can assure you that as of today, Fagioli has not been included in the deal. Massimiliano Allegri wants to meet him in training to understand if he can be useful during the season. “
Recurring Juve boss Allegri is desperately trying to freshen up his squad this summer despite being hampered by the club’s ongoing financial problems.
As such, it is unlikely that the old lady will be able to stump up the kind of cash that Sassuolo requires for his midfielder, which means that Arsenal’s continued interest could end happily if Locatelli decides he can do without Champions League football in at least one more season. .
