English Premier League side Arsenal have turned into one of Europe’s biggest spenders during this summers transfer window and they look determined to give manager Mikel Arteta the tools he needs to build on what became a disappointing second placed finish in the 2022/23 campaign, given how long they were in top spot and holding off the challenge of Manchester City.
Having already shelled out £105 million for former West Ham United and England midfielder Declan Rice, their total summer spends exceeds £200 million now following the arrivals of Kai Havertz and Jurrien Timber, and they are in the final stages of signing Brentford goalkeeper David Raya on a loan deal with a £27 million purchase clause if he impresses.
With the English season almost here now, some outlets are claiming that they are now ready to offer two first teamers to Italian Serie A side Inter Milan in an effort to add Niccolo Barella to their list of summer captures.
Italian outlet Calciomercato have recently directly namechecked Barella as being one of their next targets. Inter fans will remember that earlier in the window, the 26 year old was being very heavily linked with a move to fellow Premier League side Newcastle United, but that deal never materialised.
Barella is a key player for the Nerazzurri though, and it is believed that after their spending so far they are unwilling to meet Inter’s valuation of the players which is considered to be on the very hefty side – so that puts us into the realms of a potential player swap plus a lower cash fee scenario.
In this case it is being speculated that they are willing to offer Florian Balogun, who has reportedly been a long term interest for them anyway, as well as Japanese defender Takehiro Tomiyasu.
It could potentially be the perfect time for Inter to strike here, as Balogun looks odds on to leave the Emirates Stadium this summer and he has already been linked with West Ham United and Monaco. There are some reports that say Inter have already had a 25 million Euro offer rejected for Balogun, as Arsenal value him at more around the £50 million mark, so this could be a very simple solution depending on how the Italian side feel about Tomiyasu, and then what kind of cash incentive is offered on top to grease the over all deal through.
With a few weeks left in the European window, this could be a deal that ends up going through.
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