Atletico Madrid midfielder Thomas Partey has reportedly made it clear he would like to join Arsenal and is hoping a deal can be struck between the teams.
The 26-year-old has told people close to him he has ambitions of proving himself in the Premier League with a move to the Emirates.
He was high on the list of targets for Mikel Arteta before football was suspended for the coronavirus crisis and a move will hinge on whether Arsenal can structure a possible deal.
The club have asked players to take wage cuts to cope with the impact of the virus and are unlikely to spend heavily in the summer.
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Partey has a release clause of around £45m and Atletico are braced for approaches but also have an interest in Alexandre Lacazette. The Spanish side are among those in Europe who will consider swap deals in a market where there will be less cash deals than before.
Arsnal manager Arteta wants a defensive midfielder as one of his priorities as he looks to rebuild the teqm after taking over from Unai Emery.
The Spaniard has been impressed with Partey over the midfielder’s five years as a regular in La Liga. Before that, Partey had loan spells at Mallorca and Almeria in the second tier before joining Atletico.
He impressed in the Champions League victory over Liverpool just before football closed its doors and is now open to a move to the Premier League.
Arteta would welcome competition in that area despite bringing back Xhaka to the Arsenal team. He also has Torreira, who is recovering from an injury.
Arsenal made two signings in the January window to improve the team with Pablo Marí at centre-back and Cédric Soares at full-back, which was seen as his priority. But this summer will see him look to add quality to his midfield.
