Agent is now in LONDON to evaluate and negotiate the offer with Arsenal before the DEADLINE week! Announcement in the next 24hrs
Arsenal are reportedly set to hold talks over the potential signing of Juventus midfielder Weston McKennie, with his agents already in London.
THE LOWDOWN: ARSENAL INTEREST
It was reported earlier this week that the Emirates Stadium outfit are on the ‘trail’ of McKennie, and Juventus are willing to sell him for between €20-25m (£17.5-22m) plus add-ons.
Mikel Arteta admitted in his pre-game press conference ahead of their FA Cup fourth round tie away at Manchester City that he would like ‘more cover’ in midfield, and so could explore a deal late on in the transfer window, with under a week until the deadline.
THE LATEST: MCKENNIE TALKS
Taking to Twitter, journalist Nicola Balice, who contributes for Italian news outlets Calciomercato and Corriere dello Sport, says that McKennie’s agents are ‘in London’ already to talk to clubs about a potential deal for the USA international, with Arsenal named alongside fellow Premier League rivals Leeds United as a possible destination:
#McKennie, agents in London for a few days already to evaluate and negotiate with various clubs (#Arsenal and #Leeds, not only). Ambitious player, we need a project that convinces him. #Juve pending, clear requests and absolutely within the reach of every club in the Premier League.”
THE VERDICT: GET IT DONE
With both Granit Xhaka and Mohamed Elneny now 30 years of age, and Thomas Partey set to join them in the summer, Arteta will feel like he needs to build a midfield for the future, and add some more youth into this area of the pitch.
Hailed as a ‘monster‘ in the air by football writer Wes Tucker and a ‘pressing machine‘ by USMNT journalist Chris Smith, McKennie is already rated very highly, and is crucially a lot younger than the Gunners trio at just 24.
He ranks in the 86th percentile for non-penalty goals, 84th for touches and 90th for progressive passes received per game for all midfielders in Europe’s top five leagues over the past year (FBRef), showing that he is already among the best for key midfield metrics.
Nonetheless, there will be added worries over Partey’s injury record, while Arteta has expressed his concern over Elneny’s recent injury, so it is vital that the Gunners get some cover in before the deadline, and McKennie would provide just that.
