Agent Contacted: Arsenal on the VERGE of landing CHAMPIONS LEAGUE winner in the Summer – Player has already agreed to join Arteta side
Contract talks between Spain international Marco Asensio and Real Madrid have hit a ‘standstill’ as Arsenal look to lure the Spain international to the Premier League, according to Marca.
As things stand, no fewer than seven Los Blancos players will be leaving the Santiago Bernabau for free on July 1st. And while the departure of Mariano Diaz is unlikely to set many pulses racing, the prospect of Karim Benzema, Luka Modric, Toni Kroos, Nacho Fernandez and the aforementioned Asensio departing for nothing in the very same summer is enough to worry even the unflappable Carlo Ancelotti.
Barring a major surprise, Modric, Kroos and Benzema are all expected to stay at least. Things is far less certain when it comes to Asensio though.
In an ideal world, the former Espanyol star would prefer to stay and commit his future to last season’s La Liga winners. Real Madrid, meanwhile, are happy to rubber-stamp a three-year deal. The problem, however, is one of finance, rather than of illingness.
Real Madrid, Marca say, are reluctant to offer more than £70,000-a-week. Asensio wants £100,000-a-week. Or £5.3 million-a-year, if you like. And with Real refusing to bow down to the winger’s demands, this is more than a mere pothole on the road to an eventual compromise; negotiations now at a ‘standstill’.
COULD ARSENAL SIGN REAL MADRID’S MARCO ASENSIO?
His agent, Fabrizio Romano says, has held talks with Premier League clubs in the past, with Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal currently his most likely destination. The Gunners are in the market for a new attacking midfielder and Asensio, due to his contract situation, is far more affordable than the likes of Julian Brandt and Gabri Veiga. Arsenal, alongside AC Milan, have ‘spoken’ to Asensio’s camp (Sport).
Asensio, a left-footed playmaker who prefers to play on the right, has scored six largely spectacular goals this season to go with his five assists. There is a nagging feeling however that, at the age of 27, the three-time Champions League winner has not developed in the manner of someone once tipped to become a bonafide generational great; a lack of consistency and niggling injuries holding Asensio back.
“He has personality. He is sure of his ability and he is not afraid, which is a very good thing,” former Spain coach Vicente del Bosque said five years ago. “I think, with Marco, we could have a world-class player.”
Perhaps, like Casemiro, Rafael van der Vaart, Arjen Robben and co before him, Asensio needs a change of scenery to really stand out from a rather gifted crowd.
