Guillem Balague claims Spurs made move for Thomas Partey; comments on Coutinho rumours

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Arsenal are unlikely to be in a position to splash the cash this summer, with the global pandemic hitting their budget.

Mikel Arteta faces a tough task retooling his Arsenal squad this summer, and the Gunners will have to get creative.

Still, big names are being linked with moves to the Gunners. Philippe Coutinho and Thomas Partey are two such names.

Coutinho is heading back to Barcelona this summer, with Bayern Munich unlikely to take up the permanent option in his loan.

The Brazilian has struggled to hit top form since leaving Liverpool in 2018, and he has been linked with a return to England.

Le10 Sport recently claimed that Arsenal are pursuing talks with agent Kia Joorabchian, in the hope of luring Coutinho to North London, though the finances will be tricky.

In the case of Partey, Atletico Madrid are battling to keep him. The Guardian noted in April that Atletico wanted to give him a new contract, but Arsenal had made contact about a deal.

Partey has a €50million (£44.5million) release clause in his deal, but it’s tough to see how Arsenal can afford that as things stand.

Now, Spanish football expert Guillem Balague has suggested that there have been no talks over a deal for Coutinho, with his agent working to drum up interest.

Balague added that Tottenham made a move for Partey last summer, and he now won’t sign a new deal with Atletico as Arsenal lurk again.

It’s unlikely Tottenham will have the funds to make a move this summer, but there appears to be fear that the Ghanaian midfielder will move to England this summer.

“At the moment, it hasn’t happened, there hasn’t been discussions on it, there has been no agreement on it, so Barcelona – and his agent – are still trying, somehow, to create interest in the possibility of getting Coutinho. None of that is happening at the moment.”

“What I’m hearing is that he has a buyout clause of €50million, and Atletico Madrid would like him to sign another contract, but he’s not signing another contract. There was a very clear possibility of him moving to England last summer. Spurs, Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal, they all enquired about Thomas. It didn’t happen, but it tells you that perhaps it’s the player that Atletico Madrid will be more fearful of losing because he is growing, but is more willing to leave. The €50million is an interesting figure, but not many clubs are going to go that far for Thomas,” he added on Partey.