Luciano Spalletti wants Juventus to keep Kenan Yildiz despite Arsenal being in ‘love’ with the Serie A superstar, according to Fabrizio Romano.
Arsenal have identified Yildiz as a blockbuster potential attacking signing after missing out on Vinicius Junior, who recently penned a new contract with Real Madrid. The Gunners believe Yildiz could thrive at the Emirates either in the No 10 role or on the left wing.
The Turk’s impressive versatility means he could even be viewed as an alternative to Julian Alvarez, who is proving difficult to sign from Atletico Madrid.
We revealed on Thursday that Arsenal could try to use Gabriel Martinelli to bring down Yildiz’s huge price tag. Juve would want well over €100m (£86m) to even consider selling their prized gem.
Tutto Juve reported on August 10 that Juve have made the 21-year-old ‘untouchable’ after rejecting a new enquiry from Arsenal.
In his latest YouTube video, Romano has insisted that Yildiz remains off limits for Arsenal, despite their clear admiration.
“Today, Luciano Spalletti, the manager of Juventus, clarified the situation of Kenan Yildiz,” Romano said.
“We spent the last few weeks hearing about Yildiz and Arsenal.
“The point is that there is no fresh update on Yildiz and Arsenal because to come out and say, ‘Arsenal love Yildiz,’ I don’t think that’s big news.
“It’s been since [a] long time [that] Arsenal appreciate Kenan Yildiz. Mikel Arteta, Andrea Berta, everyone loves the player. That’s not new.
“Luciano Spalletti today says, ‘They can offer whatever they want, €100m or whatever, we are Juventus. We are ready to offer Kenan Yildiz what he wants. We are already giving him what he needs.’
“So, Juventus plan with Kenan Yildiz. Luciano Spalletti says, ‘He is too important, Kenan Yildiz, for us.’
“So, [I’m] not anticipating any exit for the Turkish winger.”
However, Atleti are determined to keep the Argentine striker, while the player himself still dreams of joining Barcelona.
Arsenal are keeping themselves in the mix in case Alvarez warms to the idea of joining a different club to Barca, and if Atleti drop the goalscorer’s price tag significantly.
Mikel Arteta’s side have also set their conditions to sign deadly Galatasaray centre-forward Victor Osimhen. But if Arsenal moved for Osimhen then they would still need to land an elite left winger to compete with Christos Tzolis.
Having missed out on left wingers such as Vinicius and Morgan Rogers, the reigning Premier League champions could turn to Nico Williams next.
