Arsenal In Talks For £40m Striker After Chelsea Failed To Land Him In January

The January transfer window may have slammed shut but clubs will still be working hard behind the scenes at identifying targets for the summer, so we’ll bring you all the latest news, gossip and rumours. Today, could Mario Balotelli be heading back to the Premier League?

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has held talks with the agent of unsettled striker Mario Balotelli about a potential £40m move to the Emirates, according to the Express.

The report claims that Balotelli has become frustrated with life at the San Siro just over a year after making the move from Manchester City and is understood to be determined to move on this summer. The 23-year-old was seen sobbing in the dug-out when he was substituted against Napoli last week and has been the subject of racial abuse from the stands again this season.

The Express suggest that Balotelli made it clear to his agent, Mino Raiola, that he wanted to leave back in January and the players representatives held initial talks with Chelsea officials about a potential switch to Stamford Bridge.

However, a reunion with Jose Mourinho failed to materialise and now it seems Arsenal have entered the chase with the newspaper stating that boss Arsene Wenger met with Raiola last week and will try to bring the £40m-rated Italian international to north London at the end of the season.

Balotelli has been linked with the Gunners in recent weeks and there were even suggestions that new kit sponsors PUMA might be willing to part-fund the move as Balotelli is also on their books and they are apparently keen on having two of their biggest clients working together.

That still looks unlikely at this stage but Arsenal are certainly in a position where they have the funds needed to pull off a deal for Balotelli, with the club’s latest financial results showing they have over £120m available in the bank while the lucrative £150m PUMA deal will also boost the clubs coffers.

Wenger could certainly do with another top quality striker this summer after being left heavily reliant on Olivier Giroud this season and while Balotelli is a controversial figure, nobody can doubt his immense quality and perhaps Wenger is the man to finally tame him.

Chelsea are also expected to add to their strike-force with Mourinho hinting recently that he would bring in a world class front man this summer, so we shouldn’t rule out the possibility that Balotelli could yet be reunited with the Portuguese coach in west London.

One things for sure, the Premier League will be a more entertaining place if ‘Super Mario’ returns this summer!

READ MORE –> Arsenal transfer news | Chelsea transfer news

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