Arsenal interest in £68m midfielder is ‘concrete and serious’, they’re willing to swap two players for him

Arsenal have made huge waves on the transfer market this summer as they prepare to challenge for the Premier League title once again. They have splashed out around £200 million for marquee signings Declan Rice, Jurrien Timber, and Kai Havertz so far, but they aren’t done with their business yet.

The new season now just over 24 hours away but there is still time for clubs to move some pieces around and bring in some new recruits before the transfer window slams shut.

There are a few players on the outgoing list who the Gunners are looking to cash in on — two of them being Folarin Balogun and Takehiro Tomiyasu — and they reportedly want to swap them out for the highly sought-after Nicolò Barella. According to Calciomercato, Arsenal’s interest in the Inter Milan star is ‘concrete and serious’ and he is said to be the ‘main candidate’ to replace Thomas Partey, who is also on the exit list.

Mikel Arteta’s side would be hoping to strike a ‘two for one’ deal, as both Balogun and Tomiyasu are of interest to the Nerazzurri. However, they would also need to offer quite a bit of money in the offer as well.

A recent report claimed Inter are looking for at least £68 million for Barella, who has three years left on his current contract.

Last season, the Italian midfielder tallied nine goals and ten assists across all competitions. While he is most comfortable in the central role, he can also play across every other position in the engine room. His workrate, scoring contributions and versatility has naturally attracted a lot of attention this summer. Both Liverpool and Newcastle United were also linked to sign Barella, but talks have gone quiet for both clubs and Arsenal now look to be the front-runners.