Speaking on a recent episode of the Here We Go podcast, Fabrizio Romano revealed that Barcelona were interested in signing Arsenal’s Ainsley Maitland-Niles during the summer transfer window.
Making his Arsenal debut as a 17-year-old back in 2014, Maitland-Niles has featured a total of 106 times for the north London side, chipping in with three goals and providing five assists along the way.
Last season, the £13.05 million-rated 23-year-old featured 20 times in the Premier League, providing two assists and averaging a WhoScored match rating of 6.63, in addition to making six appearances in the Europa League, over which he averaged a disappointing WhoScored match rating of 6.20.
Earlier this year, Arsenal overruled Mikel Arteta by stating that they were looking to sell the England international in order to raise funds for some of Arteta’s own targets in the transfer window, with Everton and Brighton & Hove Albion reported to be interested in the 23-year-old.
However, later on in the window, the club made a U-turn on their original decision, reconsidering their stance that Maitland-Niles was available for sale.
And, while the versatile player remained at the Emirates Stadium this summer, Romano revealed on a recent episode of the Here We Go podcast that Barcelona were “really interested” in bringing the 23-year-old to La Liga.
He said: “Before signing Sergino Dest, Barcelona were really interested in Maitland-Niles. We have to say congrats to the Arsenal board, because it was not easy to keep this player.
“We [heard] rumours about by Bayern Munich, about Manchester United [and] also from Italy, but in particular, Barcelona. When they understood that Bayern Munich were going for Sergino Dest, and they had the possibility of losing this player – because Bayern Munich is a top, top club, so when [the] Bayern Munich board [went] to Amsterdam to meet with Ajax to try to sign [the] player – Barcelona were considering other [options].
“They also had the name of Maitland-Niles [on their] list, [but] then they signed Sergino Dest. [So,] Maitland-Niles will stay with Arsenal and [I] have to say that I see him [as] an important player for the future – not just for Arsenal, but also for England.
“So, congrats to Arsenal, because it was not easy to say to Barcelona, ‘no, the player will stay here’. Also, congrats to Mikel Arteta because he’s been keen to keep the player.”
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From Romano’s comments, it is clear that the journalist is of the belief that Barcelona were indeed interested in the signing of Maitland-Niles, although, only seemingly in the event that their move for Dest did not work out.
However, the La Liga side did manage to land Dest, which, according to Romano, played a big part in ensuring that Maitland-Niles remained in north London.