JOSE MOURINHO has said he will “miss” Ainsley Maitland-Niles after his loan spell with Roma came to an end. Maitland-Niles spent the second half of the season in the Italian capital on a temporary deal from Arsenal. The 24-year-old made 12 appearances in all competitions under Mourinho. And despite not being a resounding success, the […]
JOSE MOURINHO has said he will “miss” Ainsley Maitland-Niles after his loan spell with Roma came to an end.
Maitland-Niles spent the second half of the season in the Italian capital on a temporary deal from Arsenal.
The 24-year-old made 12 appearances in all competitions under Mourinho.
And despite not being a resounding success, the charismatic Mourinho has thanked Maitland-Niles for his efforts during his time at the club.
The Arsenal man posted a picture of himself holding the Europa Conference League trophy to Instagram as he bid farewell to Roma.
He wrote: “Great way to end the season thank you to the Roma fans players and staff for embracing me and believing in me as one of their own for the short period of time spent at the club what an experience and to be a part of history with the club.”
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Mourinho himself reposted the snap to his own Instagram account, writing a touching message.
He said: “We will miss you. One of us.”
That’s despite Maitland-Niles being far from a regular starter under the Portuguese gaffer during his time in Serie A.
And Mourinho’s message all but confirms Roma will not be making a permanent move for the versatile Maitland-Niles.
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SunSport exclusively revealed earlier this month that Maitland-Niles is one of nine first-team players who could leave Arsenal this summer.
He is expected to move to another Premier League club for around £8million in the upcoming window.
The Gunners are looking to scrape together £60million from an Emirates yard sale of players who no longer figure in their plans.
One of those is Maitland-Niles, as Mikel Arteta plans to spend as much as £150million this summer.
Also up for the chop are Hector Bellerin, Lucas Torreira, Bernd Leno and Pablo Mari, while Matteo Guendouzi and Konstantinos Mavropanos have already been sold.
