Serie A outfit Empoli won’t be selling Samuele Ricci this summer despite the midfielder holding talks with Premier League giants Arsenal and Leicester City, president Fabrizio Corsi has told SportItalia, via SampNews24.
After sealing their return to the top flight at the second time of asking last season, Gli Azzurri are determined to prove they belong back in the big time.
And retaining the services of a much-coveted Italy U21 international would be a real statement of intent with just six weeks remaining until Empoli kick off their first Serie A campaign since 2018/19.
At the end of April, Tuttomercatoweb reported Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal and Brendan Rodgers’ Leicester had held talks with Ricci, a purposeful, probing playmaker who is equally comfortable scything through the heart of midfield as he is snapping into tackles in front of his defence.
Arsenal and Leicester chase Ricci
According to La Nazione, Leicester would have had no qualms about paying £14 million for a 19-year-old who has risen through the ranks at the Stadio Carlo Castellani, helping his home-town club win the Serie B title in 2020/21.
But even if the Foxes were willing to stump up £30 million, Empoli aren’t for turning.
“Ricci? We don’t sell our young players,” says Corsi. “They can give us a hand for our Scudetto, our stay in Serie A.”
The cynic inside us could be forgiven for wondering whether Empoli may also have a financial motive for keeping Ricci for one more year.
The youngster is already valued in excess of £10 million despite playing just 62 first-team games.
And the Tuscany-based outfit know they would be able to command a far larger fee for Ricci once he had a catalogue of stand-out Serie A performances under his belt.
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