Arsenal have reportedly been joined by Juventus in the race to sign midfielder Thomas Partey from Atletico Madrid – as per Calciomercato.
The report claims: “An offer of 40-45 million euros would make Juventus falter, opening up to the sale of the green-gold national team man who could also act as a valuable exchange pawn.
“Douglas is a profile that Simeone likes for his tactical alchemy and would have decided to sacrifice Lemar, the latter disappointing so far in his experience in Madrid.
“The Frenchman is not part of Juve’s plans, which for Douglas Costa could raise by asking for Thomas Partey’s card in exchange.”
This would have been a real impediment for Arsenal and their transfer plans but according to Ghanian journalist Ekow Amoasi, Thomas Partey is actually biased towards joining the Premier League side in the summer.
He said, as per Football London: “As per a close source to Thomas Partey, the player wants to play for Arsenal. Expect Partey to play in Arsenal next season, expect him to be in England, I can assure you of that.
“Partey wants to play for Arsenal, he wants to be in England. Last week, I’ve been told that [Michael] Essien has got in touch with him and I wouldn’t be surprised because close sources tell me that Partey wants to play in England and especially Arsenal.”
Will Thomas Partey really snub a move to Juventus?
We are not sure if Amoasi made these comments after the news of Juventus’ interest broke but one thing’s for sure, not a lot of players will be audacious enough to say no to the Old Lady.
At Arsenal, there’s no doubt the player will get a royal treatment since the likes of Xhaka and Guendouzi will be his only competition but at Turin, the midfielder will be able to challenge for each and every trophy.
Arsenal are currently in rebuilding mode meaning it could take a couple of years before they manage to get back amongst the big boys in Europe. And we are not sure if Thomas Partey will want that, given he’s at the prime stage of his professional career.
Also, perhaps the most important aspect in this whole scenario is that the 26-year-old has a €50million release clause and we are not yet sure if the Arsenal management is ready to splurge that kind of money in the transfer market this summer.
