Roma keen on signing Arsenal outcast Ainsley Maitland-Niles on six month loan deal with option to buy the midfielder for £8.4m in the summer
- Roma closing on a January move for Arsenal outcast Ainsley Maitland-Niles
- The Serie A outfit are keen to take the midfielder on a six month loan deal
- He has only been afforded four starts by Mikel Arteta this season
Roma have offered a six month loan deal for Arsenal midfielder Ainsley Maitland-Niles with the prospect of the transfer becoming permanent for £8.4million.
Jose Mourinho’s club held discussions last week and have stepped up negotiations with an offer as they look to secure the 24-year old’s signature next week.
Maitland-Niles was frustrated to see a move to Everton fall through in the summer after Arsenal blocked the transfer and has been keen to play regular football.
Roma are reportedly in talks to sign Ainsley Maitland-Niles on loan from Arsenal in January
He missed Sunday’s 5-0 win at Norwich owing to a positive Covid test and last appeared for Arsenal in their defeat by Liverpool last month.
Roma are also offering a loan fee of around £600,000.
Maitland-Niles has found game time hard to come by at the Emirates this season despite being blocked from leaving back in the summer.
The versatile midfielder has been frozen out at the Emirates this season by Mikel Arteta
After Everton launched a bid to sign him, the England international was told in a clear-the-air discussion with Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta that he would not be allowed to depart the club.
He was also forced to briefly train away from the first team after writing on Instagram: ‘All I wanna do is go where I’m wanted and where I’m gonna play @arsenal.’
His situation in north London has not improved since that outburst, with Arteta only affording him four starts in all competitions.
Arteta blocked the 24-year-old from leaving to join Everton back in the summer
Now Jose Mourinho is looking to bring Maitland-Niles to Roma in the January window
