Arsenal have reportedly made an enquiry over the potential availability of Juventus midfielder Manuel Locatelli during the upcoming January transfer window.
That’s according to a recent report from Calciomercato, who claims that Juventus would consider a suitable transfer bid for the midfielder.
Juventus signed the Italian on loan back in the 2021 summer transfer window from fellow Serie A side, Sassuolo.
The deal reportedly includes an obligation for Juventus to sign Locatelli on a permanent basis once the current season ends.
It was revealed by Sassuolo CEO, Giovanni Carnevali, that the £92k-per-week midfielder had turned down a move to the north London club prior to joining Juventus, which makes it easy to see why Mikel Arteta’s side have been mentioned with a potential move for him this time around.
With 50 appearances under his belt for his current side, the 24-year-old has chipped in with three goals and five assists.
Last season saw the Italy international make more passes into the final third of the pitch (127) than any other player at the club, as well as having the second-highest number of successful tackles (31), highlighting how useful he can be in the middle of the park with and without the ball.
Things have been quite similar for him in this current campaign as only Danilo (11) has won more tackles than the Italian (7).
In fact, the two players currently have the same performance rating of 6.82/10 from WhoScored, making them Juventus’ joint sixth-highest rated players.
Hailed as a “sensational” player by journalist Alan Rzepa, Locatelli could be an ideal signing for Arsenal as a potential long-term heir for either Thomas Partey (29), Granit Xhaka (30) or Mohamed Elneny (30), given their ages.
Moving forward, if Juventus are willing and able to let the midfielder leave in January or in the next summer transfer window when his initial loan spell at the club ends, Arsenal should definitely explore the possibility of signing him and seeing what it would take to finally get him to the Emirates.
