Arsenal’s hopes of bringing Thomas Partey to the Emirates as part of a deal that would see Lucas Torreira going the other way have been scuppered. Reports in Spain had suggested that the Gunners wanted to take advantage of Atletico Madrid’s interest in Torreira to agree a cash-plus-player deal for Partey.
Partey has long been Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta’s summer priority as he seeks a new midfield general to patrol the centre of the field.
The 27-year-old Ghanaian has Champions League experience and is seen as the ideal player to inject not just steel but extra skill into Arsenal’s midfield.
DON’T MISS: Arsenal convinced Houssem Aouar transfer will happen
But the Atletico holder’s release clause stands at £45million and they have made it clear they will not entertain any offers below that fee.
While Arsenal signed Gabriel Magalhaes from Lille for a fee rising to £27m and also paid out over £10m to make Pablo Mari’s loan move permanent, they are short on cash.
And so Atletico’s interest in Torreira sparked claims in Spain that Arsenal were keen to agree a reduced fee for Partey to allow the Uruguayan to head to the Spanish capital.
Yet the Daily Star (09:51) say that while the La Liga giants are keen on Torreira, they are only interested in doing a loan deal.
The 24-year-old has fallen out of favour under Mikel Arteta and has been told he can depart the north London outfit only two years after joining from Sampdoria.
But while Diego Simeone likes the combative midfielder, Atletico are cash-strapped themselves and only want to do a loan deal.
Serie A duo Fiorentina and Torino have also been heavily linked but the Star say Atletico are now working the hardest to get an agreement in place.
However, the bad news for Arsenal is they do not want to do a permanent deal – at least not this summer – and will not agree to let Partey leave for a lower fee in order to get Torreira.
Arsenal’s midfield was particularly poor in their 2-1 win over West Ham in the Premier League on Saturday night as they struggled for creativity.
“The market can surprise us and can come for any of our players in a different position and then we have to react. Let’s see what happens.”
It remains to be seen whether or not Arsenal can agree a deal for either Partey or Aouar before the window closes on October 5.
The Guardian meanwhile suggest that if forced to pick between the two, the Spanish coach would opt to sign Aouar.
The 22-year-old has been superb for Lyon in recent campaigns and would inject extra attacking threat into the midfield, which has been lacking since Aaron Ramsey’s departure to Juventus a year ago.
This article contains affiliate links, which means we may receive a commission on any sales of products or services we write about. This article was written completely independently, see more details here