Arsenal will be desperate to offload Sokratis Papastathopoulos this month, but hopes of a deal may have been dashed.
The Gunners haven’t even registered Sokratis for action this season, meaning he is currently sat on his £92,000-a-week contract (Spotrac).
Sokratis, 32, is out of contract at the end of the season, so Arsenal can at least see the end in sight, but they could certainly rather just offload him now.
Hopes were raised last week when Gianluca Di Marzio reported that Genoa were closing in on Sokratis, having missed out on Arsenal teammate Shkodran Mustafi.
Sokratis played for Genoa between 2008 and 2010, meaning an emotional reunion seemed ideal for the Greek defender as he looks to get his career back on track.
However, Di Marzio now claims that Genoa are moving away from a deal for Sokratis, and have instead made an approach for RB Salzburg defender Jerome Onguene.
The 23-year-old may be heading to Italy today to finalise a move to Genoa, meaning a potential avenue for Sokratis to leave Arsenal would be closed off.
Arsenal really need to find another buyer from somewhere, as they won’t want to see the experienced centre back draining more money from the club in the coming months – so this news is a major disappointment.
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