According to reports from Goal this morning, Arsenal and Liverpool have dropped out of the race to sign Real Madrid midfielder Asier Illarramendi.
Los Blancos signed the defensive midfielder for €32.2million in summer 2013 after claiming La Liga’s Breakthrough Player of the Year award with former club Real Sociedad.
He was billed as the ‘new Xabi Alonso’ but has failed to hold down a place in Real’s starting Xi over the likes of Luka Modric and Toni Kroos, resulting in just 25 La Liga starts over the last two seasons, whilst the recent arrival of Mateo Kovacic from Inter Milan has cast even greater doubts over his future at the Bernabeu.
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Arsenal and Liverpool have been repeatedly linked with the 25 year-old throughout the summer, with some reports claiming he’s already rejected the chance of a €2omillion Anfield switch, whilst Serie A champions Juventus have also been mooted as potential suitors.
But according to Goal, both Premier League outfits have now dropped out of the race to sign Illarramendi. They claim the Reds have never actively targeted him and feel their name is being used to ‘drum up interest’ elsewhere, whilst Arsenal rejected a direct approach from Real Madrid to sign the midfielder for a reduced fee earlier this summer.
That leaves Juventus in the frame to snap up the former Spain U23 and reunite him with ex-Real star Sami Khedira at the heart of their midfield. Meanwhile, The Express claim the La Liga giants are looking to sell for around £16million.
Arsenal and Liverpool face each other in the Premier League on Monday evening.