Thomas Partey has been encouraged to secure a move from Atletico Madrid to Arsenal by his fellow Ghana international Kasim Nuhu, who was speaking during an Instagram Live session today.
If you had asked us a month ago about the prospect of one of the most coveted midfielders anywhere in Europe joining an underachieving and rather cash-strapped Arsenal side this summer, we’d have laughed you out of town.
But it seems that the chances of Thomas bringing the Partey to north London are growing by the day.
The Telegraph reports that one of the first names on Diego Simeone’s Atleti team sheet is open to a move to Arsenal after all. And, while his £45 million price-tag felt a little prohibitive for a club who are on the verge of missing out on Champions League football yet again, there may be a way around this potential problem.
BleacherReport claims that the three-time Premier League champions could kill two birds with one stone, farming much-maligned centre-back Shkodran Mustafi out to Madrid as part of a deal that would see Partey move in the other direction.
“Atletico Madrid is a very good club so he is playing one of the biggest clubs in the world. (But) Arsenal are also one of the biggest,” Hoffenheim and Ghana defender Nuhu muses.
“For me, it is his decision because playing for Atletico Madrid is the same as playing for Arsenal. But as we all know the Premier League is the best league in the world so if he joins Arsenal I’ll be happy for him.”
Arsenal may still be mired in mid-table obscurity but there is no doubting the improvements they have made since Mikel Arteta took over from Unai Emery in the winter, with the rookie Spaniard giving this misfit bunch something resembling a structure and a game-plan once again.
The addition of Partey, meanwhile, feels like the sort of game-changing signing that would immediately drag the Gunners up a level or two.
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