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Arsenal to table formal €18m defender bid this January – report

By mac14 on September 23, 2015

According to a report in the Independent, Arsenal will table a bid worth around €18m for Juventus defender Daniele Rugani when the window reopens in January.

Rugani was strongly linked with a move to the Emirates during the summer with various reports suggesting we had made formal enquiries over his availability.

The 21-year-old expressed his desire to stay in Turin and fight for his place at his boyhood club after spending the last two seasons out on loan at Empoli.

However, he’s failed to force his way in to Massimiliano Allegri’s starting eleven with the likes of Leonardo Bonucci, Giorgio Chiellini and Andrea Barzagli all well ahead of him in the pecking order.

It looks like Arsene Wenger has maintained his interest in signing the centre-back and will once again try to lure him away from Juve this winter.

The Independent are citing a report coming out of Italy that claims Arsenal will table a formal €18m (£13m) bid once the transfer window reopens.

It remains to be seen how the Italian champions would react to such an offer but the player could be keen on the move as reports suggest that Rugani has told his agents he’ll look for a move if his first team chances don’t improve over the coming months.

The youngster is rated as one of the brightest prospects in Italian football but his development will be stunted if he doesn’t get regular game-time and it doesn’t appear likely he’ll get it at Juve any time soon.

Rugani is yet to represent Italy at senior level but has appeared at Under-21 level and is tipped to have a big future in the big.

Whether that will be at Juventus or Arsenal remains to be seen but I think he’d be an excellent addition if we could pull it off.