Arsenal transfer news: Thomas Partey, Dani Ceballos, Houssem Aouar, Sokratis, Hector Bellerin
All the latest Arsenal transfer news, rumours and gossip
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Your support makes all the difference.Arsenal have been dealt a blow in their chase to sign Thomas Partey with news PSG have joined the race to get him.
Partey has been one of Arsenal’s first-choice targets in the position for a while with the club’s scouts having monitored the Ghana international for some time.
But the emergence of interest from the French champions, who ESPN say are keen, is not what the Gunners would have wanted.
Atletico Madrid have remained insistent that the 27-year-old won’t be allowed to leave for any less than his €50m release clause, a figure that PSG are far more likely to be willing to reach than Mikel Arteta’s side.
Meanwhile, the Gunners are closing in a deal for Dani Ceballos.
The midfielder spent last season on loan with the Gunners with boss Arteta desperate to do a second deal to bring him back.
The Telegraph report they have indeed brokered an agreement that will see the Spaniard return to the Emirates on loan for the 2020/21 campaign.
The suggestion is that Real Madrid have waived any loan fee in exchange for Arsenal paying all of Ceballos’ wages.
The Athletic claim that Arsenal have held talks with Lyon playmaker Houssem Aouar, who is valued at around £50m by the Champions League semi-finalists.
The Gunners need to sell players in order to fund any incomings, though, with vice-captain Hector Bellerin subject to interest from PSG, who hope to capture the 25-year-old for a fee in the region of £30m.
Another who could leave is defender Sokratis Papastathopoulos with Napoli president Aurelio de Laurentiis indicating a deal is getting closer.
“We’re working on it,” he said on Friday. “The transfer market is a laugh.
“In the world of football, balls swell out of proportion, it seems that you are talking to people who are blackmailers.”
Goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez is attracting interest from across Europe, with Aston Villa and Villarreal competing for the Argentine’s signature.
However, Arsenal are keen to hold onto the 28-year-old and are expected to offer him a new contract.
Captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s three-year contract extension is expected to be announced in the near future, too.
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