Arsenal have been warned that capturing the signature of Gonzalo Higuain will not come cheap, after Napoli put an asking price of £67million on the striker.
Manager, Arsene Wenger, has been a long-term admirer of the 27-year-old, who has enjoyed another impressive season with the Serie A side.
However, it’s believed that the failure to obtain Champions League football next term has been an underlying reason for the forward to make a move away from Italy.
Mixed with the departure of manager Rafa Benitez, Higuain was a target for several clubs including Arsenal, according to heavy media speculation.
But now, it seems those clubs have taken a huge blow in their pursuit of the Argentinian international, after Napoli stated their biggest intent yet that they would not let him go on the cheap.
Napoli are keen to make an official clarification based on some newspapers’ claims in articles about the potential transfer of Higuain.
The club stresses that the Argentine has an existing contract clause of €94,736,000.
No bids below that figure will be accepted, those who want the player will have to match that valuation.
That was the statement released earlier on by the club, which was first broadcasted by Radio Kiss Kiss, the Italian equivalent of BBC Radio 1.
It seems that the way Napoli have announced the news so publicly may suggest that they are not expecting to lose their star man at all this season, and that release clause is incredibly hard to justify for a player like Higauin.
The forward looked to be an ideal capture for the Gunners’ this summer, after he managed to net on 28 occasions in all competitions this campaign, producing 10 assists in the process.
But despite those figures, Arsene Wenger is a man of sensible transfer business, and at that price the Gunners’ would most likely have used two thirds of their budget for this summer.
Did You See? Arsenal Prepare £8.5million Bid For Chelsea Midfielder
The news comes just days after Arsenal lost out on Jackson Martinez, who is now expected to join Atletico Madrid instead in a £25million switch.
Attentions will now turn to other options that can fill the void in Arsenal’s final third, and names such as Patrice-Emerick Aubameyang, Karim Benzema and Christian Benteke have been linked with a transfer to the Emirates this summer.
Like us on Facebook by clicking here and follow us on Twitter @Fresh_Arsenal to stay up to date with all the news, blogs and transfer updates.