According to Il Romanista, Roma have offered Amadou Diawara to Arsenal – and hope to sell him to push through a deal for Granit Xhaka.
This one has been going on for what feels like an age.
Roma have been chasing a deal for Xhaka for weeks now, with Jose Mourinho keen to bring the Switzerland international to Italy.
Xhaka seems keen to leave too, but Roma have yet to reach an agreement with Roma despite the midfielder wanting the deal done before Euro 2020.
The tournament is now over, so there should be movement soon. After all, Roma have just signed Rui Patricio too, and Xhaka may well follow.
This new report notes that Roma sporting director Tiago Pinto is working on clearing the decks by selling players, and has offered Arsenal the chance to sign Amadou Diawara.
It’s noted that that the sale of Diawara could ‘unlock’ the Xhaka matter, with cash from his departure being put towards the deal for Xhaka.
Roma want around €12million (£10million) for Diawara, and it’s unclear whether Arsenal are still keen.
The Gunners picked him out as a potential signing last summer if they couldn’t land Thomas Partey, with Edu seeing him as an alternative addition according to Football.London.
Diawara, 23, showed huge potential at Bologna and Napoli having started his career with San Marino, but has struggled to make a consistent impact at Roma.
The Guinea international needs to move on, especially if Xhaka joins Roma, and he could end up replacing the Swiss ace at Arsenal if Roma get their way.
This now presents Arsenal with an interesting proposition, as they have wanted Diawara in the past but may be aiming a little higher now as they look to bring in another midfielder.
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