Premier League side Arsenal FC have been linked with Sassuolo midfielder Manuel Locatelli but according to Di Marzio, the feeling is not mutual.
Manuel Locatelli was one of the standout players for Italy during the European Championship and a few days ago, it was being claimed that the defensive midfielder was keen to join Juventus.
Now as per Di Marzio, if the Juventus move does not happen this summer then Locatelli will want to remain at his current club rather than join the Gunners.
Football London cites Di Marzio: “Manuel Locatelli would like to stay at Sassuolo if a move to Juventus doesn’t materialise.
“Gianluca DiMarzio reports that Locatelli will not move to Arsenal this summer despite the Gunners’ significant interest and therefore, he is likely to stay in Italy.”
Can Arsenal convince Manuel Locatelli to move?
Manuel Locatelli is being touted as the long-term replacement for Granit Xhaka who is on his way out of Arsenal this summer.
But with no European football to look forward to, not a lot of star players will be eager to join the North London side. And this is one of the big reasons why Manuel Locatelli is not interested in Arsenal.
He is pretty clear about wanting to join Juventus and he’s also willing to wait for this particular transfer rather than join another side.
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According to Fabrizio Romano, Arsenal are willing to meet Sassuolo’s demands but at the same time, the Gunners do not wish to sign players who are not happy with the club’s future plans.
He wrote on Twitter: “Juventus are always leading the race for Locatelli – new meeting soon with Sassuolo, Manuel is still pushing to join Juve.
“Arsenal’s stance: they’d be prepared to pay Sassuolo price tag [€40m]… but AFC only want to sign players happy and 100% convinced to join the club.”
Juventus are always leading the race for Locatelli – new meeting soon with Sassuolo, Manuel is still pushing to join Juve. 🇮🇹
Arsenal’s stance: they’d be prepared to pay Sassuolo price tag [€40m]… but #AFC only want to sign players happy and 100% convinced to join the club.
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) July 18, 2021
So, as things stand, it’s pretty clear that Arsenal are not going to get their hands on Italian international.
