Arsenal ready £30m bid for 23-year-old star but Tottenham open talks to hijack move

Tottenham are trying to hijack Arsenal’s proposed move for Manuel Locatelli after making contact with Sassuolo to discuss a deal for the midfielder this summer, according to reports via TeamTalk.

Mikel Arteta is in the market for at least two midfielders as Granit Xhaka, Lucas Torreira, Matteo Guendouzi and Ainsley Maitland-Niles are all expected to leave Arsenal while Dani Ceballos has returned to Real Madrid following his loan spell.

Several names have been linked with a move to the Emirates but Locatelli has emerged as a target and TeamTalk claims that Arsenal chiefs are ready to test Sassuolo’s resolve with an opening offer worth at least £30m.

However, it looks like Arsenal will face stiff competition from their north London rivals as TeamTalk are citing Italian journalist and Il Bianconero director, Marcello Chirico, as claiming that Tottenham have now joined the chase for Locatelli.

Chirico said on Twitter that Tottenham’s newly-appointed sporting director Fabio Paratici is a huge fan of the 23-year-old and tried several times to lure the midfielder to Turin during his time at Juventus.

The Italian journalist went on to claim that Paratici has already opened talks with Sassuolo general manager Giovanni Carnevali to discuss a possible deal to take Locatelli to Tottenham this summer.

Spurs are still hunting for a new permanent successor to Jose Mourinho but whoever ends up in charge at the new White Hart Lane would no doubt love to have a player of Locatelli’s quality at their disposal.

However, while Arsenal and Tottenham are hoping to lure the Italian international to England, TeamTalk suggests that Locatelli’s preference is to remain in Serie A with Juventus leading the race for his signature.

The Premier League duo could try and tempt the player with more money but as it stands it looks like Juve are favourites to sign Locatelli – which will be a big blow as he’s a superb talent who would be an excellent signing for Arsenal or Spurs.

Locatelli has already been one of the stand out players at Euro 2020 having starred during Italy’s opening two games so competition for his signature could intensify further if he continues to impress this summer.