Arsenal have apparently reignited their interest in securing a transfer deal for Juventus midfielder Manuel Locatelli.
According to a recent report from Calciomercato, the midfielder, who Arsenal were linked with before he made his move to Juventus back in 2021, has failed to convince his current club and manager Max Allegri that he is good enough to play for the Serie A side, which has resulted in Arsenal putting their eyes back on the player.
After making 99 appearances for Sassuolo, during which he scored seven goals and provided 11 assists, the 24-year-old joined his current club on an initial two-year loan, at the end of which Juventus have an obligation to buy the player permanently for a fee of £29.8m.
During his time with the Turin outfit, the Italian has made 49 appearances across all competitions, chipping in with three goals and five assists.
The previous Serie A campaign saw Locatelli show just how much of a capable midfielder he is from a defensive and attacking sense.
For example, from an attacking point of view, only three Juventus players racked up more shot-creating actions than him (57), in addition to the Italy international making more passes into the final third of the pitch (127) than any other player at the club.
Then, in terms of his defensive capabilities, Locatelli came third for the combined total of tackles and interceptions (84) made throughout the campaign at Juventus, as well as coming third for the number of successful pressures he completed (107).
This backs up why the midfielder was hailed by Riccardo Montolivo as an “extremely talented” player, in addition to being a “dominator” in the middle of the pitch according to football talent scout Jacek Kulig.
Taking all of this into account, it would be safe to assume that Mikel Arteta would love to have another fairly young player like Locatelli in his ranks that can be just as effective off the ball as he is on it.
Therefore, if the Gunners sense an opportunity to bring the midfielder to England at any point in the near future, we feel this is something they should definitely look to do.
