Arsenal haven’t given up hope of signing Thomas Partey and are still working on a late swoop to land the £45m Atletico Madrid midfielder, according to the Evening Standard.
Mikel Arteta has been desperately trying to overhaul his midfield throughout the summer transfer window but has been frustrated in his attempts to sign key targets Partey and Houssem Aouar.
Any potential move for the Lyon playmaker is dead in the water after Aouar confirmed on Sunday night that he’s staying in France for another year and there’s been no progress in Arsenal’s move for Partey either.
Some media outlets suggest that Arsenal have ended their pursuit of the Atletico Madrid star, however, the Evening Standard says the move is NOT dead and the Gunners could yet pull off a late swoop for Partey on deadline day.
The newspaper claims a deal to sign the 27-year-old remains a possibility and Arsenal have good relations with Atletico after agreeing to send Lucas Torreira on loan to the La Liga outfit.
However, price remains the sticking point as Atletico are not willing to negotiate on Partey’s release clause and are insisting Arsenal have to pay the full £45m in order to get a deal done.
Money is tight at the Emirates Stadium so it remains to be seen whether Arsenal will be able to find the money needed to trigger Partey’s clause and finally push ahead with a move for the Ghanaian international.
Departures are likely to be key and Sead Kolasinac is close to joining Bayer Leverkusen on a permanent deal while Sokratis and Shkodran Mustafi could head to Italy on loans.
The Daily Mail also claims that Matteo Guendouzi is set to join Hertha Berlin on a season long loan while Torreira is on his way to Atletico so the club could get five high earners off the books.
It’s unlikely Arsenal will allow two midfielders to leave without signing at least one replacement and they may be able to generate enough funds for Partey if they manage to offload Guendouzi, Torreira, Kolasinac, Sokratis and Mustafi.
We’ll have to wait and see how things develop over the coming hours but it’s promising to be a busy day at the Emirates. Only time will tell if Arteta is able to land the midfielder he desperately needs.
