Thomas Partey ‘remains Arsenal’s No1 transfer target’ as Atletico Madrid hold out for £45.2m release clause
THOMAS PARTEY remains Arsenal’s top transfer target but Atletico Madrid are reportedly holding out his full £45million release clause.
Kike Marin claims the Gunners had attempted to lower the Spaniard’s asking price by offering a swap deal involving either Lucas Torreira, Hector Bellerin or Alexandre Lacazette.
Yet the report adds that Atletico refused discussions and insisted his release clause be activated in full.
Mikel Arteta has been desperately hunting for some steel in midfield this summer.
Earlier this year, he identified Partey as his No1 target after another sensational season in Spain.
The Ghanian is under contract at the Wanda Metropolitano until the end of the 2022-23 season.
With three seasons still to run on his Atleti deal, the club are in no hurry to sell him cheaply.
SunSport previously revealed that Arsenal are set to spend £100m this summer to sign key targets Partey, Gabriel Magalhaes and Dani Ceballos.
But they will need to sell at least three of their current squad and offload a couple more to fund the spending spree.
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However, there is some good news at the Emirates, after Willian reportedly agreed to a three-year contract worth £100,000 a week at Arsenal.
The Brazilian winger, 31, rejected Chelsea’s latest two-year contract extension offer – demanding three years or no deal.
Willian confirmed he will leave Stamford Bridge after seven years at the club in an open letter to fans on Instagram.