Italian journalist Fabrizio Romano recently joined Arsenal-focused YouTuber ‘Lee Gunner’ to discuss the latest transfer news concerning the Gunners, where the journalist spent some time discussing Arsenal’s pursuit of Atletico Madrid midfielder Thomas Partey.
The Gunners have been linked with a move for Partey over the summer period.
Earlier this month, Romano took to Twitter to declare that Arsenal will have to pay Partey’s €50m (£44.53m) release clause, or ‘he’ll stay’ at the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium.
Reports have claimed that the north London club ‘simply cannot afford to pay’ the Ghana international’s release clause, and that issue seems to have made it difficult for Gunners boss Mikel Arteta to secure the signature of his alleged ‘top’ midfield target.
Romano was asked about the Gunners’ chances of signing the player during his recent appearance on the Lee Gunner YouTube channel and this is what he had to say about the likelihood of this transfer happening: “At the moment, no. I think no because the position of Atletico Madrid is so clear.
“I know so well the board of Atletico Madrid. They did this also in the past when many clubs asked for other players. If they have a top player – and Thomas is a top player – they say, ‘oh, you pay what we want and what we want is the release clause, so you have to pay €50m, or you don’t get the player.’
“I am told that two weeks ago or three weeks ago, Arsenal told [the] Atletico Madrid board, ‘we are not going to pay the release clause’ – so, at the moment, there is no agreement, no intention from Arsenal to pay the release clause.
“In this moment, I think it’s complicated to pay €50m just for one player, but we have to see if Arsenal will sell some players, if they change something, we will see.
“I will not say it’s impossible. I’m saying – if Arsenal get Thomas Partey, it will be for the release clause. At the moment, they have no intention to pay, but we have one month, so let’s see.”
Are you confident that Arsenal will sign Thomas Partey?
YES
NO
TIF Thoughts…
So, while Romano didn’t rule out the possibility of the Gunners signing Partey, he did reiterate that Arteta’s club will struggle to meet the player’s release clause and he suggested that the Gunners may need to sell players in order to raise funds for this transfer.
The Premier League’s transfer window will remain open until 5th October and so, the Gunners have got just over one month left to secure the Ghanaian midfielder’s signature in this window. It will be interesting to see if Arsenal manage to sell players and raise funds for Partey in that time, or if they will be forced to move on from this transfer due to the player’s price tag.