Arsenal could reportedly miss out on the chance to sign FC Barcelona midfielder Riqui Puig, with ACF Fiorentina in advanced talks to land the 22-year-old playmaker.
According to TuttoMercatoWeb, the Italian side are working hard to land the La Masia graduate this week, with Fiorentina looking to sign a new star midfielder after rejecting the chance to sign Arsenal outcast Lucas Torreira earlier in the transfer window.
Despite an incredible loan spell with La Viola, Fiorentina were reportedly unwilling to meet Arsenal’s asking price of £12m for the Uruguyan midfielder, with the Gunners not even responding to the Serie A side’s £6m offer for Torreira, who now has an uncertain future in north London.
Indeed, since the decision, Fiorentina have been working hard behind the scenes to sign a replacement, with the club now in advanced negotiations for Puig, who is also reportedly on Arsenal’s radar with Mikel Arteta keen to add another midfielder to the Gunners’ ranks following the arrival of Fabio Vieira.
With a reported release clause of €100m (£88m) and one year remaining on his contract, Barcelona are eager to offload Puig from their payroll this summer, meaning that Fiorentina could land a bargain in the creative midfielder if they play their cards right for the Catalan.
Arsenal should feel no regret if Fiorentina sign Puig
Puig was long touted as the next big thing from Barcelona’s academy, with the midfielder often labelled as ‘the next Andreas Iniesta’, yet as we know, things just haven’t worked out for the 22-year-old at his boyhood club, yet for Arsenal, they should not feel any jealousy if Fiorentina sign the youngster.
After all, Arsenal have already landed a quality creative midfielder this summer in Vieira, and whilst Puig would have also been a neat addition, the Gunners are rightly looking at a different profile of player who will add something different to Arteta’s squad.
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