Arsenal submit £22.5m offer for Atletico midfielder Thomas Partey - report
Arsenal launch a £22.5m offer for Atletico Madrid midfielder Thomas Partey, according to a report in England
Arsenal have launched a £22.5m bid for Atletico Madrid midfielder Thomas Partey, adding Matteo Guendouzi as a makeweight in the deal for the Ghanian, according to a report in France.
French media outlet Get French Football News, as quoted by the Daily Mail, is reporting that the Gunners have made an attempt to sign the Atletico defensive midfielder ahead of the summer transfer window.
The same article states that Arsenal’s player-plus-cash deal failed because Atletico are looking to secure a transfer fee in the region of £50m for the 27-year-old holding midfielder.
According to the same story, the Gunners may have to pay Partey’s £50m contract release clause if Arsenal want to get a deal for the Ghana international over the line.
The report goes on to add that Mikel Arteta will be forced to sell some of the fringe members of his Arsenal squad in order to raise the funds to sign Partey this summer.
The French media outlet write that the Gunners are still unlikely to pay Atletico’s asking price even if the north London outfit manage to raise transfer funds by selling some unwanted members of their squad.
The story reveals that Partey is interested in a move to the FA Cup finalists this summer and Arsenal’s head of international recruitment Francis Cagigao has been working on a deal for Partey.
Partey has scored three goals in 35 games in the Spanish top flight this season to help Atletico finish in third spot in the La Liga standings.
The Ghana star was particularly impressive in Atletico’s 5-3 aggregate win against Liverpool FC in the Champions League round of 16 back in March.
Partey has scored 16 times in 185 games in all competitions over the past five seasons in Diego Simeone’s first team.
