Jakub Kiwior’s wages are not an issue for AC Milan but Premier League challengers Arsenal currently have ‘no intention’ of accepting a January bid for their £20 million Poland international.
With Gabriel Magalhaes in the form of his life at centre-half and Oleksandr Zinchenko very much Mikel Arteta’s preferred option at left-back, opportunities have been few and far between for Jakub Kiwior during his first full season as an Arsenal player.
The £20 million signing from Spezia back in January has started only six games in all competitions. And the sight of Kiwior being led a merry dance by the quick-footed Johan Bakayoko during last week’s 1-1 draw with PSV in the Champions League will not have had Gabriel or Zinchenko worrying too much about their place in Arteta’s starting XI going forward.
Arsenal will not leave Jakub Kiwior leave
Arsenal, however, have ‘no intention’ of letting Kiwior go in the New Year. He might not have played much of late but, with The Gunners fighting on multiple fronts, Arteta is understandably not too keen on farming out a potentially useful member of his squad. Especially given Kiwior’s ability to play in multiple roles.
According to Tuttomercatoweb, AC Milan were met with a firm ‘no’ from the Emirates after enquiring about Kiwior in the last few days. The Pole’s £40,000-a-week wages would not be a problem for the Rossoneri but, if they know what’s good for them, Milan will give up now and turn their attention to alternative defensive targets.
The same goes for Napoli and Roma, both of whom also hold an interest in Kiwior.
Serie A giants keen on former Spezia ace
“It is clear that we are struggling in that area,” Roma director Tiago Pinto told Sky Sports Italia last week, confirming his intention to sign at least one new defender in January.
“Chris Smalling had this injury, we’ll see when he is back. There is no date yet as it is a delicate situation. Marash Kumbulla is training with the squad, but still not in contact with anyone. With (Evan) Ndicka going to the Africa Cup of Nations, obviously that is going to be a problem.
“We need to do something on the market, we all agree on that, but we also have Financial Fair Play perimeters that we have to stay within.”
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